Part 2: Friends In The Making
The coolness and silence of the night always soothed Yami. The black sky, the tiny twinkling stars, and then the ever-changing moon.
A smile spread across her pale and glowing face. Ah, yes, the moon. The source of ultimate light in the cold sea of blackness, its silver light beckoning the world to gaze upon it in all of its pale glory.
Yami didn't know why she preferred the night . . . it just seemed more suited to her. While everyone cowered in fear of the darkness, she relished in it. And while they slept away during the night, Yami found herself awake and more alive.
She knew she was different. They knew she was different, which was why everyone stayed away from her. Like she was an alien to them . . .
But then there was one . . . Gaara. He seemed to understand her, accept her . . . And she felt this abnormally strong bond with him. Like they were destined to meet.
Yami shook her head, her dark locks curling around her with every movement. She always thought too much on things, her eyes picked up on things that were strange to her. And especially their feelings. Either people just displayed them too openly, or it was something else . . .
It's like whenever she gazed into people's eyes long enough, she could see whatever their feeling at the moment.
But with Gaara, it's different. In the few days that the two have gotten to know each other, everything about her has started to change . . . She could feel it, something stirring deep within her. Awakening.
Of course, she could just be looking into this too much.
But that doesn't explain how she can feel what Gaara feels. Whenever she's around him, one look in his eyes and she can see his emotions. But instead of just seeing them, she starts feeling them.
Like whenever he's sad, she feels an unbearable sadness come washing over her; and when he's happy, happiness starts blooming in her chest.
She can't control it, and she really does like having Gaara around her.
So, shrugging it off, she gazed around her. She was sitting on top of a mountain above the Sand Village.
At this height, Yami's spirits soared, along with the beautiful clearing around her.
Yes, this was her secret place. She came here almost every night, her private sanctuary where she would gaze at the beloved moon.
Somewhere below in the village, the little boy whom she had such a strong connection to was also gazing at that same moon.
• ~ ♦ ~ •
The next day, Yami woke up to the sound of soft knocks at her door. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, she went to open it.
Gaara stood there, a small smile on his face.
"Good morning, Yami." He greeted, still a little shy.
She smiled. "Morning, Gaara." And she let him in.
He sat at her small table, already having been here in the last couple of days—he knew his way around Yami's small home.
Yami, without a word, got to fixing them breakfast.
"Sorry it's small, I don't really have that much." Yami apologized after serving their food. Looks like I'll have to try and bargain with the villagers again for food.
Gaara studied her and finished chewing his oats before speaking. "Don't worry, Yami. I'm just happy you're sharing with me!" he smiled at her and she returned it.
But then he noticed her worry glance around the room. "What's wrong? Do you need more food or something?"
Yami's eyes widened and she shook her head at him, plastering a fake smile on her face. "No, I've got it covered."
Gaara wasn't convinced, and knew he had to help her out.
Wait! I can ask Yashamaru if we can help her out since the villagers don't like her. Gaara thought to himself, and they both finished their breakfast and headed out.
"Hey, I want to take you to meet someone. He's a good person, and might be able to help you out." Gaara told Yami who followed him silently.
Gaara usually walked through one of the streets that went through the main part of the village, but Yami was wary. She always steered clear of this place, preferring to go the back way and hide in the shadows.
"Um, Gaara . . ." Yami hesitated right when they were reaching public view.
Gaara turned to look at her questioningly, seeing as she had stopped a few feet back.
"What is it, Yami?"
She had her head down, her black bangs hiding her mysterious eyes from his view.
"I just . . . I never go down this way . . ." she looked up, her fake smile in place, eyes closed. "I stay away from the main part of the village, they don't like it when I come through. I always . . ." She grasped her forearm where a fresh bruise lay underneath the clothing. ". . . Get hurt."
Gaara stifled a gasp. He studied her, her mist gray eyes that were now clouded over and distant, as if remembering a bad memory. And then how she held her arm . . .
Why would anyone want to hurt Yami? She's done nothing wrong! He didn't understand it, any of it. And he wanted to do something about it, he wanted to make it better. For Yami, and him.
"Well, how about we go around?" Gaara asked her, smiling again and she looked up at him, her eyes alight.
"Okay!" she nodded, happy to go the familiar route.
The two children set off, the shadows acting as comfort to them both.
Yami walked alongside Gaara. "Is this person we're going to meet that Yashamaru person?" she asked him. Gaara had been mentioning him a lot.
Gaara smiled and nodded at her. "Yeah, he's the only adult who isn't afraid of me. So maybe he can help us out."
Yami looked down in thought while Gaara led the way.
When they were nearly there, Gaara felt something hesitantly grab onto his hand. He looked down and saw Yami's hand wrapped securely around his and he looked up at her questioningly.
"Sorry . . . I'm a little nervous." She whispered while thinking, What if this guy doesn't like me?
Gaara squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Don't worry." Was all he said before they walked into a building.
There wasn't any one around so Gaara took Yami up flights of stairs until they made it to a room.
"Is this your room, Gaara?" she asked, looking around the spacious room.
"Uh, yeah . . . Do you like it?" Gaara asked shyly. He was worried, one thing he hadn't told Yami was about his lineage. That he was the Kazekage's son, the leader of their village. He was worried about what she would think of him.
Yami smiled. "It's great—almost bigger than my house," she told him and he laughed a little. Yami walked over to the large windows and looked out them.
She could see all the way to the outer walls of the village. Sand blew in the air and she watched people enter and exit stores and walk together on the street.
"It's a nice view, huh?" Came a sudden voice that did not belong to Gaara. She gasped and turned swiftly around.
Standing in the doorway was a man. He had sandy brown hair that was short, and violet eyes. He wore a simple kimono held closed by a simple sash along with an apron with the Sand Village symbol at the top.
"Yashamaru!" Gaara said.
"Hello, Lord Gaara. I see you brought a friend with you," he politely said, smiling at the dark-haired girl.
Yami was nervous. She'd never been around another person other than Gaara who wasn't screaming at her. But she did like it whenever he called her Gaara's friend. It held so much meaning, and she liked it.
"Yeah, she is! Yashamaru, this is Yami Misa." Gaara introduced, growing excited about the two most important people in his life meeting for the first time.
Yami looked up at Yashamaru as he walked closer to her. "It's very nice to meet you, Yami. Gaara told me he made a friend."
"Oh," she spoke quietly, snapping out of her thoughts. She bowed, "Thank you, Gaara told me a lot about you too."
"Did he now?" Yashamaru said, looking behind him at Gaara who merely grinned.
Yami stood back up, looking at the two. They look close, I'm glad Gaara has someone like that . . .
"Um, Yashamaru, I was wondering . . ." Gaara peeked over at Yami before looking back at Yashamaru. "Can you take us to the market? Yami needs food and the villagers are all afraid of her and won't let her buy anything."
"Oh," Yashamaru blinked, before turning to the little girl. "Is this true?"
She silently nodded, and Yashamaru sighed.
"Of course I'll take you. Everyone needs to eat, right?" he said, smiling and scratching the back of his head.
She let out a smile and the three were on their way.
Yami wore a plain black shirt that was hooded, it was long, almost like a dress, and she had dark slacks on. She only had one pair of black sandals. She concealed her face by wearing the deep hood whenever she went into town.
Gaara looked at her, confused as to why she was hiding her face, but then he understood. They walked in silence, the villagers gave a wide berth when they saw Gaara.
Most of them wouldn't even look, while others glared with hate. Gaara found himself sinking lower and lower into his upraised collar, wishing he had something to hide his face like Yami.
Yami sensed his discomfort and let down her hood for the passerby's to see. The villagers instantly had fear in their hearts as they walked past, trying to get as far away from the two demonic children as possible.
Gaara looked questioningly at Yami, wondering why she would choose to let everyone see who she really was when she could hide.
"Your not alone in this." She put it simply, yet it meant everything to Gaara. That's when Gaara realized how selfless Yami was, and he admired that.
Yashamaru watched the two as he led them into the marketing place. They went into a shop and almost all of the customers ran out in fear. Those who stayed kept as far away from the group as possible.
"Can I help you?" The shop owner said angrily, furious at seeing them here and running off his customers.
"Uh, yes, we're just here to pick up a few things." Yashamaru answered with a polite smile, and the owner grumbled.
Yashamaru grabbed a basket and started loading it up with things, asking Yami what she liked. Once paid for, Yami smiled genuinely at Yashmaru as they walked down the street.
"Thank you so much!" she told him, and he was immediately struck by the pureness her smile shown, even under all of the darkness in the girl's eyes.
"Oh, your very welcome. I just hope it's enough."
"It's more than enough, this will last me for quite a while." Yami told him, still smiling. Now I won't have to worry about food . . . at least for a little while.
Gaara found himself smiling at their exchange.
"And you know what would be fun?" Yashamaru asked the two.
"What?" They both asked him.
Yashamaru grinned. "If we went and got some ice cream!"
Gaara and Yami looked at each other, curious about why the adult was so excited over something called "ice cream."
Yashamaru went to a stand where he bought three cones with a strange green swirl on top with black chips embedded into it. He handed each of them a cone.
He licked his first before Yami and Gaara tentatively licked a small portion before they found the taste irresistible. It had a deep, smooth flavor that was kind of sweet, yet had a minty taste to it underneath. It was very refreshing, and full of flavor.
They all sat on a bench away from the villagers, enjoying their cold treat.
But Yami remembered something, and decided to voice her question.
"Um . . . Yashamaru?"
"Yes?" he responded to the quiet girl.
"Well, I was wondering . . ." She looked at Gaara before looking in front of her. "You called Gaara "Lord Gaara" before . . . and I was wondering why."
"Oh, well that's because Gaara is Lord Kazekage's son." Yashamaru said and Gaara looked down just as Yami looked at him, shocked.
"Is this true, Gaara?" she asked him, though she already believed it to be true. He did live in a mansion.
He nodded, muttering a quiet, "Yes."
She was taken aback, but accepted it nonetheless. After all, Gaara was still her friend.
"You don't . . . hate me do you?" he quietly asked, and her mist gray eyes widened before she broke into a smile.
She covered her hand over his, causing him to relax. "I could never hate you, Gaara." And it was true. She couldn't hate him or anyone even if she tried.
******************
Weeks passed slowly by in the Sand Village, and Gaara and Yami met with each other every single day.
Yami thought it was time to take Gaara to her special, secret place.
Holding his hand, she led him past the village—though they were still in its limits—and through tall sandy hills that were in the very back of the village.
"Where are we going, Yami?" he asked her, never having been in this part of the village before. It was nightfall, they spent the day playing in the park since the other kids weren't there.
She turned her head to look at him with a secretive smile on her angelic face. "You'll see, it's just up ahead."
They continued further, until they made it to the top of a dull mountain. But what Gaara saw, made it seem like the most beautiful mountain in all the world.
Because on the very top of it was a flat surface covered with green grass that swayed in the wind. The sand on the ground underneath the tall grass made the place sparkle, and then there was a small lake of crystal clear water in the very heart of it.
The place was so tranquil. Especially with the shining stars above, they were so high up in the air it seemed like you could just reach up and touch one.
"So? Do you like it?" Yami asked him after a few moments of silence.
Gaara nodded. "Yes, it's very beautiful Yami, how did you ever find this?"
She looked up at the stars, as if all of the answers were written there. "I found this place about a year ago . . . I felt so alone and scared of the villagers, I just took off running. Not knowing where my feet were taking me, it was like something led me here." She then gazed at the surreal place in front of her and Gaara. "When I found it, I felt more at home than I ever had. This place filled me with warmth that felt so right, I feel more like myself here. More so than anywhere else . . ."
Gaara studied her, and in truth she did have a peace about her.
But there was something else about her . . . she seemed so free. Something he never felt, having people attack him out of the blue all of the time. Then he noticed something around his friend . . . Like a darker light surrounding her entire body, it honestly reminded him of the sand that protects him all the time. But this was the first time he noticed it, and Yami seemed totally oblivious to it.
"Come on, let's go by the water," Yami offered with a smile of serene calm.
"Uh, sure . . ." he mumbled and Yami led him through the soft grass to the small body of water.
The water really was crystal clear, and it reflected everything—even the moon and the stars.
Gaara looked at his reflection, and a peaceful silence filled the place.
Yami then broke it, as she was gazing above at all of the stars. "When I had stumbled upon this place, I didn't know what part of the village I was in anymore. And ever since finding this place, I come here almost every night. It's the only place I feel safe . . ." she then looked down at the sparkling water. "No one ever comes here. It's like our own little place . . . hidden by the world."
"Our . . .?" Gaara questioned, picking up on that immediately. Yami flashed him one of her rare genuine smiles.
"Yes, Gaara. This place is yours too." Her voice, her face . . . it was happy. Like she was happy to be sharing her treasured place.
Gaara could feel the smile stretch across his face, along with a delighted warmness spreading in the heart of his chest—it was the best feeling he'd ever had. And he didn't want it to go away.
They shared a smile and looked up at the moon. Knowing that if they were together, then that warm feeling would never go away, but continue to grow.
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Chapter notes:Sorry for the long wait! Here's more of BtD!!! I'm going to change a lot of things with this story so be prepared! Oh, and props to those who can name the flavor of ice cream used!
Note: Yami means Darkness, while Misa means Beautiful Sand. The first name is obvious, and when I saw what Misa meant I just had to use it! ^_^
Happy Reading!