Desert Flower

The Boy with the Red Hair

Nighttime had fallen in the Village Hidden in the Sand. There was a slight breeze gently blowing the sand around. A little girl with pale skin, reddish-brown eyes, with long brown hair that was tied in a red ribbon up in a ponytail stood with her mother inside a shop while she was getting supplies from the shopkeeper. She was wearing a green robe with a white scarf wrapped around her neck to protect her face from the sand when it was hot. She sneezed when a dust of sand blew into her nose as she walked with her mother as they exited a shop.

"Don't worry, Yuri. You'll be feeling better once we move to the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Yuri heard her mother's warm voice said to her. Yuri frowned as she held her mother's hand while the two of the walked, heading back home. "But I like it here. I won't know anyone if we move. What about Temari?"

"You can still write to her and besides might like the Hidden Leaf Village even more and make new friends." Yuri's mother smiled.

"Okay." Yuri nodded. Her mother smiled.

"That's my good girl. Now we mustn't keep your father waiting. Let's head back." The two continued to walk.

Her parents were from two different villages. Her father came from the Village Hidden in the Leaf while her mother was from the Sand. Despite the animosity between the two villages, in secret, the two of them fell in love and eventually they had her. However, when Yuri was born, her parents noticed that she would get sick often, mostly caused from the sand and the dry air. They decided that it would be best to move back to Konoha for their daughter's sake and safety.

"Shoot! I knew I forgot something." Yuri heard her mother mumble. "Yuri, I'll be right back. I'm just going into that shop of there. Wait for me here."

"Okay." Yuri smiled. Her mother smiled and quickly rushed into the shop, leaving Yuri outside as she waited. Yuri shivered, feeling the cold breeze of air. As she was warming her hands up, Yuri saw something moving quickly in the dark and squinted her eyes to see what it was. Her eyes widen when she saw that it was a boy with red hair, smiling as he carried a small bag. Yuri knew who he was. Gaara. Everyone knew, in fact, the entire village was scared of him. When she asked her parents why everyone hated him. They told her that when he was upset or angry, Gaara could unleash his beast that was sealed in him and possibly wipe out the entire village. She still didn't understand why anyone could hate someone, especially a child and even told her parents this. Her words shocked parents, but also, they were very proud of her. But they still told her to stay away from Gaara for her own safety.

This morning at school, while she played, usually by herself, Yuri saw the other kids would often avoid him, leaving Gaara out of their games. One of the kids kicked a ball onto the roof, getting it stuck. It was Gaara who got it down with his sand. The kids ran away from him in fear. Without thinking, Gaara unleashed his sand, tripping a girl, and accidentally injuring her. It took Gaara's uncle, Yashamaru, to talk and calm him down. Often, Yuri would see Gaara's uncle pick him up from school, but never his father or mother. Why was that? She wondered to herself. And what was Gaara doing with that bag?

Yuri looked back into the shop to see her mother still talking with the shopkeeper then turned in the direction where she saw Gaara heading. It would only take a few minutes. Her mother would never notice that she was gone. Yuri quickly sped off, chasing after Gaara, quietly following behind him. Yuri stopped and panted as she tried to catch her breath, taking cover behind a corner of a house when she saw Gaara stop and knock on a door. It opened revealing the girl that he had hurt earlier today. Her eyes widen in fear once she saw Gaara, who smiled, holding out the bag to her.

"Here, I brought some medicine. I'm sorry about earlier." Yuri heard Gaara spoke. She saw the girl glare at him.

"Get out of here, freak!" She spitted out, venomously, and slammed the door in Gaara's face. Yuri's eyes widen and she felt her blood began to boil and clenched her fists. Without even thinking, Yuri had already walked past Gaara, who was surprised, but also startled, to see her. Yuri picked up the bag of medicine that Gaara had dropped then pounded hard on the door. The door opened again, revealing the girl.

"I thought I told you to-" Yuri flung the bag right into the girl's face. Her eyes widen in shock and her mouth dropped slightly, completely dumbfounded. Gaara stood where he stood, staring at Yuri, speechless, as she continued to chew the girl out.

"You and everyone here, call this boy a monster, but the only monster that I see here is you, all of you!" Yuri screamed at her. "Apologize to him or I'm going beat it out of you!" Then Yuri pointed towards Gaara, who tensed up. The girl slightly glanced over to him, shifting her eyes away from him.

"S-Sorry." She muttered and quickly closed the door.

"Unbelievable. How rude can you get?" Yuri huffed, trying to calm down.

"Um, who are you?" Gaara asked her. Yuri blinked, realizing that she was standing right next to Gaara. Her eyes widen and she slowly backed away from him.

"Oh, I-I'm Yuri." She told him, quietly. "I already know who you are."

"Why did you do that?" Gaara questioned her. Yuri's eyes widen, wondering herself.

"I guess I couldn't take it anymore. Seeing the way you've been treated, it isn't fair." She told him and started to walk away, waving goodbye to Gaara. "I got to head back. My mom's probably already noticed that I'm gone." Gaara's eyes widen a little. "Wait!" Yuri felt a tug on her wrist, and she looked back to see sand. Yuri already knew she was playing with fire. One wrong word, one wrong move...

"Do you want to come over to my uncle's house? Maybe we can play?" He asked her. Yuri shook her head.

"I'm sorry I can't. In fact, my mom and dad and I are moving tonight." She told him.

"Y-You can't leave!" Gaara shook his head. "I won't allow it!" Then an idea came to Yuri's mind, and she turned back to Gaara. She tugged on her red ribbon, letting her long hair fall down. Then she tied the ribbon around Gaara's wrist.

"How about a promise?" She asked him.

"A promise?" Gaara questioned. Yuri nodded.

"You cannot take this off or lose it until we meet again. Come find me in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and return it to me. Maybe we can test out each other's skills to see how much we've grown." She told him and smiled then held up her pinky. "So, is it a deal?"

"Deal!" Gaara smiled and locked his pinky around hers. Yuri heard her mother calling out to her, not too far off as she was looking for her. She didn't want to know what would happen if her mother caught her with Gaara.

"I have to go! But we'll meet again! I know we will!" She told Gaara and ran off, leaving him, waving goodbye.

"Goodbye." Gaara solemnly waved back to her, hoping she wasn't lying. Her eyes were different from everyone else's. They still were afraid but, there was something else. Something that Gaara, couldn't understand what it was.

What was it?