Hidden Sanctuary || Gaara Love Story

Chapter Four

His eyes were penetrating, it felt as if he could see right into her soul. A low, husky voice cut through the moment of silence that fell upon them.

"Who are you?"

She expected him to ask that question. She saw the fingers on his right hand twitching; he was most likely trying to move them.

"I-I found you." She cleared her throat nervously. "You had severe chakra exhaustion, I think your muscles are still strained from it."

His eyes narrowed.

"Don't stress your body any more, you need to recover. I wasn't finished healing you." She was mildly astounded she had managed to sound stern. She noticed her fingers were still touching his scar and her cheeks colored. She abruptly pulled them away and placed her hands in her lap.

'I should have known as soon as I stopped that technique he'd regain consciousness.' She mentally grimaced. 'I should have just done a simple jutsu to put him to sleep.'

"Sorry about this, Scarlet." She whispered, quickly making a few hand signs.

The red-head was struck with a wave of grogginess; his eyes grew faintly panicked.

"C-Can't.. sleep.." He tried to stay awake but his eyes felt heavier, he was drifting off. "He will.. kill.."

The shinobi ultimately lost the battle and fell asleep.

Aria raised an eyebrow. 'What is that supposed to mean?'

She shrugged it off.

'Oh, the strain on his muscles from the chakra exhaustion is worse than I thought it would be. He must have used up more chakra than he ever did in his whole life.' Her hands glowed white. 'I'll just heal them so he doesn't stress out his body more. He should be able to move again after this.'

Her thoughts slowly wandered to the stranger she was healing.

'His eyes..'

Their gazes hadn't lasted long; It was possibly only a few minutes. But she had seen so much in them, she had felt so much from them. She recognized the pain in those sea-green orbs, the agony threatening to consume her. She was familiar with the loneliness she saw that screamed at her silently, the isolation that she knew from experience. Aria was perplexed because he was a stranger, she could not understand why she was so affected by him. She was stunned when she found that she would love to once again get lost in his breathtaking gaze. Her cheeks colored. She briefly wondered if her sanity had been blown away during the sandstorm. The girl mentally criticized herself before her thoughts ceased.

She was vaguely aware of a presence enveloping the room. She thought she heard a croon before she shook her head and finished healing the man. Before she could lower her hands, sand shot up and trapped them. Her eyes widened. 'What—' Her thoughts were cut off when she felt an outburst of chakra in the room. She struggled to break the hold on her hands but it was futile, physical strength was never her strong point. More sand flowed out from the stranger's gourd she had placed in the corner, they moved towards her and imprisoned her with her hands on her sides. Dread filled her as she looked up and saw an empty futon.

"Hello, girl." She heard a voice from behind her.

Shivers ran down her spine, this voice was different. This voice emanated menace, instilled fear.

In a blink of an eye, he moved in front of her and lowered his face closer to hers. She noticed his eyes had changed; the white part of his eyes turned black, his irises were yellow. He had pupils now, they were black and shaped like four-pointed stars. She swallowed when she realized that his chakra signature now felt sinister.

"Hello." She replied as even as she could, staring into his eyes. He grinned; his teeth were sharp and menacing.

"You are.. a spirit, no?" She asked after a moment of thought. "You were sealed inside his body."

"You are observant." His eyes sparked with interest.

She tilted her head to the side. "Why were you sealed away?" Though she had a feeling she knew the reason already; His presence was very intimidating to say the least.

"Because I am powerful. You pathetic humans were afraid." He took a few steps back and crossed his arms, his gaze still fixed on hers.

Aria nodded; Her theory was correct. The man looked around the room until his eyes fell onto the rumpled futon he had previously laid upon.

"This is the longest time this body has slept in years." Her eyes filled with question.

"What do you mean?"

He paced around the room and leaned on the wall across her.

"When he was a small child, I told him that if he slept, I would take over his body and go on a killing spree." A wicked grin grew on his face. "He hasn't slept since."

Aria was momentarily speechless.

"He must be very kind."

She meant what she had said. Her heart clenched as she imagined how lonely he must have been; he was most likely shunned by others who were afraid. Regardless of that, he still willed himself to keep the spirit from killing the very people who rejected him. Aria was overwhelmed with feelings of compassion towards the man whom she barely even knew.

His eyes fixed themselves upon the girl, he had noticed the emotion in her voice.

"I have never thought of it that way." He chuckled to himself.

She couldn't read his expression or his tone as he mentioned this.

A contemplative look passed on her face. "But.. why do you kill?"

"Because I can." His answer came about quickly; his tone was overflowing with arrogance.

"I see." She bit her lip. "Could I ask you something?"

He raised a nonexistent brow.

Her gaze met his and he was somewhat surprised that it was unwavering.

"Please do not kill my grandmother." Her voice was steady, her eyes determined.

"You won't ask me to spare your life?" He mused.

Aria shook her head. "I only wish to keep her safe. It was my own choice to bring you here."

She didn't want her grandmother to be harmed for what she had done.

He chuckled. "Interesting."

The sand slowly loosened from their tight hold on her body. She briefly scanned herself for any wounds and stood up when she saw there were only light scratches. It seemed as though the spirit has decided to let her live for now, though she didn't understand why.

"Oh, Spirit-san?" She called as she walked towards the door. He hadn't moved from his position, leaning on the wall. His eyes met hers as a quiet response to her question.

"Just because you have the power to do something, that doesn't necessarily mean that you should act upon it. Control is above power; The control over yourself so that you do not senselessly abuse your powers is far greater than allowing your powers to consume you." She knew he could kill her for her insolence. But there was no hesitation in her voice. She noticed a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "That is merely my personal opinion though." She slid open the door and went to find an ointment to treat her scratches, the door was shut quietly behind her.

He pushed himself off of the wall and grinned, his sharp teeth glinted in the light.

"She is an amusing human."