Blood In The Sand

Rena was doing her best to climb up onto the roof. There wasn't any kind of way up to other than via climbing unless you used shinobi abilities, but Rena wanted to depend on her strength. It was great training, after all! As she moved to put her hand on the shingles, instead, she found a soft hand enveloping her own and pulling her up. It was one of the few times Gaara had voluntarily touched her. "If you aren't aware of the steps you're taking while climbing, you'll fall." He was saying that the next step she took would probably have caused her to plummet from the building.

She sat down on the roof and Gaara sat beside her. They were silent for a few minutes, neither of them speaking or looking at one another, but they gazed up at the night sky. There wasn't a single star, only inky black darkness above them. The moon was covered in clouds. It was Rena who broke the silence, her voice cutting through nothingness like a hummingbird through the air.

"So, why did you call me up here, Gaara?"

"Because I'm going to kill you." Rena was paralyzed with fear. Her eyes moved to Gaara, achingly slow, as she took in his expression. It was calm, calculated. His eyes moved to hers, never once breaking away as he spoke without any restraint. "I brought you up here to kill you. I love nobody but myself. I can't love anyone but me. Love makes you weak. You're getting in the way of my strength, so you must die. I must exist, no matter what and your existence is interfering with mine."

"But, I-"

"You will not feel it. Barely anything." His hand raised, sand swarming around her figure. This time, it was tighter than the last time she had been in his grip, the sand directly brushing against her skin. It was rough. It began to squeeze tighter and tighter and even though she was terrified, on the brink of tears, her voice was heard as clear as day.

"That's okay."

"What?" Gaara's hand went slack, the sand's trajectory slowing down a substantial amount. It paused, floating in the air, one big mass of some substance that nobody could see from how dark it was.

"I said... that's okay. Kill me."

"Are you... mad?" His voice was a mix of confusion and hesitation. He had never hesitated in killing someone before for any reason like this. Blood was blood, no matter whose it was that coated his sand and her blood was meant to be within it.

"If this is what you want, then kill me! I'll let it happen! It'll be okay!" She insisted as sand flowed around her. "But, Gaara, if this is what you think is best for me... I'll wait an eternity for you to realize what love is and what it can do. I'll wait until every human dies and every shinobi becomes extinct. I will be by your side because even if you try to kill me, even if I'm afraid and want to cry or run away, I have to stay. I believe in you."

"You'd let me kill you..."

"Because I love you, Gaara."

That was enough for him. As soon as the clouds covering the moon dispersed, his sand broke formation, pouring down the side of the inn as he lurched forwards, both of his hands wrapping around her neck, exposing his bloodshot eyes. She had the full option to hit back, to push him away, to do anything, but her hands remained limp at her sides. Her eyes were closed, a gentle smile gracing her lips. He was going to squeeze the life out of her and she wasn't doing anything about it! Didn't she know this was weakness?! Didn't she know she was going to die because of this supposed love for him?!

His grip on her neck weakened, hands slipping away. He had left marks and she coughed and wheezed for air, rubbing at the place he had been holding. "You are weak. You'd give up your life for someone who only loves themselves, someone who is strong."

"I guess... I would, yeah. But... that's love at it's worst, Gaara. You have yet to see love at it's best! Gaara, even if you never love me back, I'd still..." Her face flushed, the light of the pale-colored moon exposing the look on her face. Her smile caused his heart to beat, painfully, what felt like a fever spreading across his cheeks. He couldn't bring himself to do it. The sand that had been trailing down the side suddenly rushed back up the wall, into his gourd.

"If anyone else had said this, I would have killed them." His glare focused on her. "But, I'll allow this- for now. I'll make you follow me. I will be your prison. You will not leave my side until you see the truth behind my words, how this love makes you weak. I will show you why I am strong... and then you will be as strong as I am."

The entire time, Rena smiled at him, causing his annoyance to grow. "Stop doing that. You shouldn't be smiling."

"But why not? It's kind of like a confession!"

"What do you mean?"

"You know- a confession!" Rena blushed again, dancing around the rooftop. "A half-confession."

"Shut up. Stop it."

Neither of them had noticed someone listening in from one of the trees around the inn. He leaned against the trunk, his eyes serious. "This is impossible..." He murmured, the frown on his face giving away his feelings on the subject. "She'd never allow this."

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Monday, 6:00 AM

7 Days Until Chuunin Exams

Gaara and Rena's Relationship Level: 14%

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A tinkling sound filled her ears as she shifted in bed, the sound of light, jingling bells. "Wake up, Rena!" She pulled the covers over her head, trying to escape the sound of the voice that had woken her up for the past month.

"Nooooooo!"

"God damn it, meow!" He let his true speech pattern slip, the impulse too much for his agitation. Rena began laughing under the covers, causing Suno to hit her with a pillow over and over. "Don't laugh, meow! This is your fault!"

"It sounds just like a real cat!" She tried to defend from Suno's relentless battering, mocking his speech impediment. He continued to bash the wiggling Rena with a pillow until Tsukiyomi came in, staring directly at the two. Suno paused, turning around to look at her, with Rena peeking out from under the covers.

"Everyone can hear you. Please lower your voices." Both Suno and Rena burst into laughter at Tsukiyomi's tone of voice, unable to hold it in. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. Let me get dressed." Rena struggled to get into her gear, things Temari had left for her. It was so tight-fitting. The shirt itself came with netting, which was needlessly confusing and a little delicate for her tastes, although it allowed for her skin to breathe and for maximum flexibility. The shorts Temari had given her were black and came to a stop just over her knees. From what she knew, this was default kunoichi attire. The shirt she had been given was rather similar, all black, with no sleeves. The netting went to her elbows, hugging her stomach tightly. She wasn't so sure about the shirt itself being so short and showing her belly button. Strapping her pouch to her leg, she began scrambling through her things voraciously. "W-Where is it?! The headband?" She knew that the Kazekage wouldn't be pleased about this.

She walked out of the room, straight into Temari. "So everything fits, huh? That's good." It was clear the group was waiting for her. Everyone was here, including Gaara, which was a surprise. He was a little further down the hallway, listening, but staring off into the distance. He didn't move an inch, so whether or not he was paying attention was a different story. "Well, I guess that we should probably start with the basics. We used yesterday to settle in and rest from our travels, but it's time to go train. I already know who my partner is going to be," Her eyes moved to Suno, who noticeably gulped.

"Me? No, I... I really shouldn't. Right, Tsukiyomi? We should go together!" Temari grabbed him by the ear. "Yowch! No, no, no! Don't hurt me like this! Aaagh!" He complained as she dragged him down the hall. "You guys figure out the rest. I'm taking this kid somewhere I wanna go."

"I know who's going to be my training partner!" Kankuro reached towards Rena, but Tsukiyomi stepped in his path, careening her head to look at him. "I... I guess... it's Tsukiyomi...?"

"Correct."

Rena and Gaara had disappeared in the split second he had taken his eyes off of them. Damn it! This Tsukiyomi, always getting in the way... It would make him feel better to beat the crap out of her, at least!

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"Do we have to do this?"

Temari turned to look at Suno, her eye twitching. When she chose him, she figured he'd show her something new, not that he'd complain every inch of the way. "Are you going to keep acting like a wuss, or are you going to fight?" The boy made a loud sound like he was a mix of exasperated and dying. "Come on. Show me what you've got." The tip of her fan hit the ground. As she dragged it along the dirt, she opened it to her first moon, making a perfect line.

"Are you sure?"

Temari, irritated by Suno's unwillingness to start fighting, swept her fan in motion towards Suno, resulting in him being tossed in the air by her unruly winds. The roar of them was pretty much deafening. She could see Suno's mouth move, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next. He hit the ground, being pushed back and kicking up dust. The clouds filled the area, causing Temari to cover her mouth with her sleeve until it cleared out. It was a fast dispersal when she swept her fan across the battlefield again. Her eyes widened. "What... the hell are you?"

Suno was arced in what would look like a completely uncomfortable position. His nails dug into the ground to the point they were tearing up the ground itself. His feet were planted as firmly as possible, but there was something different about his eyes. They were slits, something not commonly found in any human, but resembling the features of a cat instead. The thing that gave away the split from humanity the most was the flicking, furry black tail, and ears. The tail twisted midair, waiting. "You said you wanted to. I said I didn't." His nails disconnected from the soil, revealing black, extended, pointed claws. He didn't straighten out but rather stayed connected to the ground, somehow moving swiftly on all fours. "You wanna go? Let's go."

As he burst forward with a level of speed that Temari didn't think he had, she opened her fan to two moons, a sweeping torrent of wind headed in Suno's direction. His eyes narrowed, perceiving her strike as he narrowly changed course, passing the torrent by. "Time passes more slowly for me like this. I have better reflexes. I can dodge things I couldn't when I don't use the Release." Temari sent another bullet of wind at him, finding herself frustrated when he moved again. She opened to the third moon, sending one after the other, but it seemed like they were just playing a game of cat and mouse. It was only as it was too late that Temari realized how close he was, as she had been focused entirely on hitting him rather than keeping him away. As he launched himself at her, she rose her fan and felt a slight weight on it as he bounced on top of it and landed on her shoulders. There was a hand and a foot on either shoulder as he stared down at her, blinking. "Satisfied?"

"I will be when you tell me what the hell this is. I've never seen it before."

"That's my secret." He flipped off of Temari. She hadn't even noticed a change in his chakra, it was that subtle. But now, she could feel something different about him as his tail wrapped around his leg. She had figured it was some kind of ribbon, or trophy, not a part of him. She watched him smooth down his ears. They no longer stuck up and blended in with his hair. It was as if no ear, nor tail, had been there. He looked back at her, but paused, almost erratically, as a butterfly floated across space he could see, his eyes following the gentle flap of its wings.

He got on all fours, pawing at the air around it as it moved, eyes wide. Temari began to shake, holding back her laughter as much as possible before bursting out into full-blown snorts and giggles. Suno glared at her, but all Temari could do was a laugh. He was still following the butterfly as he tripped over the trunk of a tree. Sliding forward face-first, he flopped on the ground. "Where are you from, anyway?"

Picking himself up, he looked back at the girl with blonde hair. "I don't exactly know. I guess, one day, I was just aware of my surroundings and myself and I kinda went with that." Temari backed up against the tree, before sliding down the trunk and coming to a stop. She flipped open a book on chakra control. "You're gonna read?"

"Yeah... what do you expect me to do? I know you're capable now, so I'm not about to waste this precious free time I have on doing nothing."

"Let me read with you!"

"..." She glared at him before exhaling air, rolling her eyes. "Fine. I'll read out loud. But you'd better keep up."

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Tsukiyomi and Kankuro were intensely focused on their goals, it seemed. As they sat in the booth of the dessert shop, Tsukiyomi consumed bowl after bowl of different delicacies. Kankuro had saved up for this journey, but never did he expect to burn through his savings so quickly. She was going through his money like wildfire through a damn forest! As he scooped up some of his ice-cream, Tsukiyomi opened her mouth.

"..." It took Kankuro a moment to get it. "YOU WANT TO EAT MINE TOO?! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN!"

"But I want yours."

"Why?"

"Because it looks like it tastes good."

"No!" If he was gonna spoon-feed ANYONE, IT WAS GONNA BE RENA! Unfortunately, Tsukiyomi chomped down on his spoon, taking what he had intended for himself. She pulled away, revealing nothing but a handle. "What the hell are you, a shark?! Where did the spoon go?! What are your teeth made of!?"

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Rena and Gaara's Relationship level: 23%

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"Gaara! You're terrible at this."

As her hands shaped the soft sand, gently digging through it and patting colder, harder, moister earth to support the more flimsy bits of the sandcastle she was making, Gaara watched nearby as she tried to shape sand without the use of Jutsu. "I'm not going to do that."

Rena looked up at him, her smile turning into a pout. They had come to a rather public park. All of the kids had been scared off by Gaara's glare, so they were the only ones left in the sandbox. Gaara still refused to participate in building a sandcastle. "You play with sand all the time, why can't you build a castle?" He stared at her, his expression a grimace of disdain. He had no interest in joining her.

"Why take the time to do this when I can simply use Jutsu?" He brought up his hand, sand swarming around the playground, creating the perfect sandcastle. The sand flowed in an almost psychedelic way as he pictured what he wanted in his mind, his fingers twitching now and again as he moved the particles into place. He looked back to Rena but was surprised that she seemed so... disappointed.

"You... don't get it, do you, Gaara?" She sighed. She placed her hands in her lap, sitting in a position with her knees under her. Her sandcastle was poorly made, nearly falling apart. She moved to get up, walking toward him. His palm was enveloped by the soft touch of her own, skin on skin. The light pulling caused him to walk in the direction she was guiding him in. As she sat down, she motioned for him to do the same. "I know that... this is little kid stuff. And that maybe we shouldn't be doing this with how old we are now." She began, looking shyly down at the ground. "But... we were both robbed of our childhood. We were robbed of love and peace and the chance to grow up normally." Her eyes moved to him and there was something he couldn't recognize there. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't decode it. "That's why I want to at least get some of those hours that were taken from us back..."

He would never understand Rena, nor this 'love' she claimed to have for him. But, it seemed like she wanted him to use his hands. He began digging into the sand, scraping it with his nails. It had been forever... forever since he got his own hands dirty doing something. He wasn't fond of having dirt caked under his nails... that he did remember.

"But I don't understand. Why aren't we the same...?" His eyes strayed to her, her own cloudy and far-off, seeing things that he couldn't fathom. She noticed, snapping out of her stupor. "Oh, no, it's just some stupid thoughts I have. I'm glad you're going to try with me, though!" The sand was rather sticky and wet underneath the dryer top part, but not an unpleasant feeling overall.

As they built the sand-castle together, the sun rose higher in the air. It took a while, but they had finally completed what was a hand-crafted masterpiece. When Gaara tried and took his time, he was good at what he did. Although... Rena's side wasn't the same as Gaara's.

As they both got up, Rena stretched around wildly, hopping and bouncing from foot to foot and waving her arms. "What are you doing...?"

"Getting some kind of exercise!" She replied, "I hate feeling like my feet are asleep."

Her smile was as bright as the sun, captivating the scene before him. A breeze ran through her hair, allowing strands to flow like water. As she brushed it back, out of her eyes, they softened as she gazed at him. In her eyes, right now, he was perfect. There wasn't a hint of the terror she felt the night before, giving her all to him... but how long would this perfection remain?

"Speaking of exercise, we should probably be fighting one another, shouldn't we?" She turned to him, tapping her finger on her cheek. "Practice and all that. I'm a bit rusty."

"You won't be able to hit me," Gaara replied, standing up. He walked over to the middle of the playground, crossing his arms. "It's futile." It wasn't a no, though. Rena herself backed up, bouncing from one foot to the other, in a fighting position. A sudden lurch forward marked the beginning of the fight. She was fast, but nothing to write home about compared to his Jutsu. As she got closer to the mark where the sand would spring into action, suddenly, it was as if time slowed. She had since passed that mark and there was no sand. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. It wasn't moving automatically.

Rena's fist hit Gaara in the face. His balance teetered momentarily before he fell flat on his ass. The hit was barely anything. She didn't put any weight behind her punch, maybe out of concern for him- or she was extremely weak. He hadn't felt threatened by her at all, but the sand still failed him regardless. It didn't even put a sand shield on his skin; he hadn't even felt the need to manually control it. "G-Gaara! Are you okay?!" Rena gasped, running to try and help him out. She offered her hand to him.

Smacking away her hand, he stood up, glaring at her as he regained his balance and posture. "I let you do that." He turned his head away from her. "You're weak. Don't waste your time on training; you should just play on the swings."

"Gaara!" Rena frowned, his harsh words cut deep.

"I'll push you. Come on."

Although he had said those cruel things to her, the idea of being pushed on the swings by Gaara tempted her enough to follow him. As she followed him across the playground, he felt a deep concern for his existence. The sand hadn't protected him this time. Something had happened. No, even worse- nothing had happened. Gaara didn't have weaknesses. It was why he lived the way he did.

Could this newfound issue... have something to do with Rena...? Should he have killed her last night? Only time would tell.

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Tsukiyomi's interactions with Kankuro had gone differently than he'd expected. She was... different, in a way he couldn't explain. She didn't know all that much about the world and took in knowledge with a curious stance. Her voice was always monotone as if she couldn't process her emotions, or feel in the first place. Her expressions, muted.

Yet, somehow, she had a certain amount of purity about her, something that reminded Kankuro of Rena. She was leaning over a flowerbed, her long, blonde locks reaching the ground. Her twin-tails were long, but not as long as Rena's. He wondered what her hair would look like down, who she was, why she had just shown up with Rena. "Tsukiyomi...?" He began. The girl's eyes swept the vicinity, resting on him, a deep blue. She blinked. Once. Twice. Waiting.

"Yes?" Her head cocked to the side, a trait Rena, too, had.

"What are you doing?"

"Studying the colors. Why do flowers grow into this kind of color? What makes them more than just black and white? Are they sentient, or do they just sort of exist as an object?"

Why she asked all of these questions, he didn't understand. There was something sad about her expressionless face and her blue eyes- it seemed like she was always in the perfect position to cry. "I... I dunno... but flowers, they're living things... I guess."

"Like me...?"

"I mean, yeah. You're living, breathing..." He swore he could see the corner of her lip turned up into a slight smile, if only for a split second, but her expression was neutral when he looked again.

"Someday." She closed her eyes, standing up, taking a breath. "Someday I'll be filled with colors, as these flowers are." Kankuro had no idea what she meant, but he nodded.

"Yeah, but you're already pretty colorful, I think." She gazed at him, directly, before walking up to him.

"You... wouldn't know color even if you were an artist."

"Hey!" He yelled as she walked past him, ignoring his frustration. That was an insult, right?! Dammit! He wouldn't let her get away with that! "Hey, I'm talking to you! Get back here!"

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Both Gaara and Rena sat on the swings, Rena pushing herself back and forth with her legs halfheartedly as they watched the sun start to go down. They had spent the entire day here, together, alone, with nothing but the playground. The red-haired object of her affections stared blankly into the sunset and she couldn't tell if he appreciated it or not. The pastel-pink sky was pleasing on the eyes, so she didn't want to break away from it, but the only thing more beautiful to her was Gaara's porcelain skin.

She reached up with her hand, almost touching him... but he snatched it. His eyes moved from the sunset to her and they spent a few moments like this, looking at each other, not saying a word. He was tightly holding her hand, unwilling to let go. "Gaara... that hurts."

"You're willing to die for me. Would you be willing to feel pain for me?" Rena's hand was entirely slack as he squeezed harder. She winced, his grip feeling like it was crushing her. "What more... would you be willing to give me, for your..." He couldn't even say the words. Love. What more would she let him do, all for that notion of love? Did love even exist?

"I'd... be willing to give you my all."

"Why?"

"Because... I don't have any reason, or will, to do anything but live for you, Gaara." He paused, letting his grip free. Her hand fell to her side as she leaned her head against the chain of the swing and for the first time he got a true look into the new Rena, the true one; the one that had been created by the events he hadn't been there for. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, memories haunting her from the past. "You... thoughts of you kept me alive. It was all I could focus on, so... It was all I held onto. I don't know if there's any purpose in life, or if we decide our purpose, but all I know is that I liked the way I felt when I was with you as a kid. I wanted it, so bad, so bad that I'd do anything to get it again. I don't think life is worth living without that feeling. Without it, it's just... awful."

Her movements were sudden as she swung the seat from side to side. That sad expression on her face was gone as she pushed toward Gaara and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. He felt his heartbeat pulse faster, his face flush. He stared at her, unable to form words or even think about things, but her hand slid over his. She held onto his hand, and he gripped the chain of the seat tighter, unsure of what to do or how to feel.

But he recalled the euphoria of taking a life, strangely, was similar and yet nothing alike to this. This was... different. A form of it that he'd never felt like before and all the while he wondered what it would feel like to take hers. Was that wrong? No, it wasn't. It couldn't be. She promised her life to him. It was his now.

Why? Why did she have to return, now of all times? Why did she of all people, the one who had abandoned him, make him falter in his motivations and question himself? Right here, right now, he could kill her. She had her guard down, the perfect target. He could take her life in this instant and end it here, but that made his heart feel like shattered glass. The thought of it, what he wanted and what he wouldn't do, confused him.

If he killed her, she'd be within his sand for all eternity, staining it with her blood. He'd have his mother and Rena. He desired that, for some reason. But even more... even just for another day, those expressions she always had when she looked at him... he wanted to see them. Just for one more day.

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Tsukiyomi and Kankuro had been goofing off around town. Tsukiyomi had been feeding birds, despite Kankuro wanting to train. She always simply walked off in another direction when he tried to suggest that they should train. She had seemingly made a friend out of a dove, which was perched on her shoulder. It seemingly did not have an aversion to her despite her human appearance. Whenever Kankuro approached, however, the bird flew away, only to return moments later when he backed off.

"We have to stop goofing off and start training." He had finally had enough, stepping in front of her and blocking her path of escape. She gave him what he can only explain as a dead-faced glare. He shivered but remained an immovable object. "Look, the chuunin exams are coming up! I need to know you aren't going to drag Rena down."

She raised her hand, the dove perching on her index finger. "I will do nothing of the sort. You might need training, but I'd rather not kill you. Fights are for the battlefield, not for fun."

"What kind of backward logic is that?! And you couldn't kill me!"

Tsukiyomi sighed, flipping her right twin-tail over her shoulder with her free hand. "I have a very large amount of raw power. I don't need talent, skill or training. This power, however, is very volatile. I can kill everyone around me by accident. There's no need for control- I am a trump card. Nothing more, nothing less." Her piercing gaze, complete with the feel of being looked down on, caused Kankuro to take a step back. She walked past him, ignoring his presence. "I'm not going to sentence one person to death just because they want to play on the battlefield."

Play...? Did she think he took this as a game? In his rage, he ran to catch up to her, grabbing onto one of her twin-tails and yanking back. She stopped, feet planted in place, non-moving. "You think this is a game?! Hell no! I want to make sure you protect Rena!" She raised the hand the dove was perched on to the air, slowly, effortlessly.

"Take flight, my kin." With the flap of its wings, it sailed into the air, leaving nothing but a single feather behind. A single, well-placed roundhouse kick in Kankuro's ribs sent him flying. She switched almost instantly to hand signs. "Lightning Release; Thunder Blitz." Suddenly, lightning burst from her forearms, striking random spots near Kankuro. As he ran for it, one hit his leg, causing him to fall over and narrowly dodge another rogue lightning bolt to the head. Bolts filled the area, bouncing off of things, aimlessly; the only intent destruction. "Don't ask me to do this again." He rose his head, watching her turn away, raising her hand yet again. The dove, as if nothing had happened, perched back on her hand. She walked away from the scene of her crime, not looking back.

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Author here! God, it's so much work~~

I enjoy it, though! Tell me what you think~~

Maybe I'll do a short Halloween special if someone asks...