Blood Red Memories

Reina sulked in her room, how long she wasn’t sure, and continued to do so at the dinner table that night. She was always silent, but this time it was an icy hateful silence, so much so Kaiyo wouldn’t finish her dinner with her, but picked up her plate and went to eat in another room. And that was fine by Reina.

After she finished dining alone, she wrapped up and walked right out the front door without a sound.

Reina was usually an obedient child, often times even fearful of stepping over boundaries placed by authority figures. However, she had a spiteful, rebellious streak that would, on occasion, show. Tonight, it was practically blazing. She would meet Kaiyo’s snub, and raise her an act of defiance.

And so, as the sun was setting, she walked alone down the windy streets of Suna. It never occurred to Reina to be afraid, despite being a child wandering from home just before dark; she was only focused on finding the “demon” boy, hatred for Kaiyo burning inside her chest. There were no people on the streets, and so she was at ease. Before long, Reina fell in step a few meters behind the boy, who was also wandering the streets alone, exactly as she had seen him earlier.

It was then she realized she had no plan of action. Reina never thought beyond tracking him down, now that it was accomplished, she was tempted to just go home when she noticed the darkening skies. After a moment of hesitation, her contemptuous impulse prevailed over sense; it would be pointless to turn back now with nothing to show for it. Instead, she began to creep silently around corners, closing the gap between them.

Now she was only a meter away, and out of ideas once again. Reina nearly jumped out of her skin, when she heard a voice faintly on the wind.

“I know you’re there,” he sighed. Reina stepped out into the open, quiet fury evaporating in an instant. For a moment she stood, staring. Reina suddenly remembered she hadn’t given a greeting and bowed; the boy replied with a slight nod.

For a moment, they both just stood there, in the dusty breeze, sizing the other up; the miserable boy with messy red-brown hair and dark circles around pale blue eyes and the tiny, pale girl with swaying braided pigtails and empty stare. Once they had wordlessly accepted the other, they began walking once more.

There was nothing except the sound of the wind, which made Reina fidget uneasily. As if it took a great deal of effort, the boy asked slowly, “Who are you?” She stared into space, as if considering it, and opened her mouth to respond. After a moment, she merely pursed her lips and watched her feet kick up a light trail of sand.

“It’s alright,” he ventured cautiously. “If you don’t want to tell me I mean. I just..” He trailed off in contemplation, struggling to find something to say. Reina shook her head, that wasn’t it at all. To demonstrate, she opened her mouth, trying to form words, but shut it after the effort proved fruitless.

“You can’t,” he concluded. She responded with a quick shake of her head, the only way she knew to communicate. For a while, they walked on in silence. Suddenly, Gaara came to a halt. After some thoughtful consideration, he asked, “would you like to know my name?”

Reina responded with a quick nod. Hesitantly, he answered, “Gaara.” She bowed slightly again. Nice to meet you. Now that his introduction was over, he had little to say and for some time they merely walked on in silence, staring out across the dunes on the horizon, cast in blood red light from the setting sun.

Once again, they stopped walking, as if on cue. Reina looked around in confusion then saw that they were in front of the mysterious house. She looked questioningly to him; his reply was a quick, slight bow.

“Goodnight,” Gaara added over his shoulder as he ascended the steps. With sudden realization, Reina figured out that the mysterious house that everyone avoided was his. Instead of it casting fear into her mind, it set a foundation of admiration in their strange friendship. There was a comforting air about this place, and a feeling she didn’t recognize at all.

Reina bowed as he stopped in front of the door then added a friendly wave, as she began on her way home, a block and a half away, with a small smile on her face. She never looked back, but if she had, she would have seen Gaara staring out after her, never moving from the steps until she had completely disappeared from view. He quietly opened the door and slid it shut, still peering out until it was closed.

Gaara could feel the warmth of the indoors in compare to the biting wind outside, and wondered if his strange companion made it home as well. “Gaara, is that you?” a voice called warmly from within the brightly lit house. He answered, quickly, a smile broadening on his face as he forgot all about her.

“Hai, Yashamaru!” Wouldn’t uncle be excited to know he had finally made a friend? Gaara rushed in to the den, “Uncle, Uncle, I—” he fell short mid-sentence, eyes falling onto a man sitting opposite his uncle with brown hair and cruel eyes staring right at him with hatred. And with that he was once again the silent, sad boy with downturned eyes.

Reina crept back inside as quietly as she could, but it was of no use. Kaiyo was waiting patiently right inside the door, hands on hips, with a mean demeanor. Of course, there was no use trying to ask where she had been, and Kaiyo had a pretty good guess as it was so she merely said, “Bed. Now.”

Reina drifted past her welcome party as if nothing had been said at all and went to her room to prepare for bed. It was clear she had won this round. That’s why she was still wearing a smirk when her caretaker came to ensure she had made it to bed and not back out the door.

“You might not have any respect for things I tell you to do, but Hiram is on his way back as we speak,” Kaiyo said matter-of-factly as she switched off the light in Reina’s room. In the dark, it was impossible to see but Reina’s smirk turned into a look of horror and panic.