Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Colour of Your Blood ❯ Chapter One: Hello, Little Girl ( Chapter 1 )

The Colour of Your Blood

 

A Sakura-Gaara Story

 

Chapter One: Hello, Little Girl

 

Sakura sat cold, wet, and alone on the round sacrificial table. She pulled her knees up to her chest in a vain effort to keep warm and closed her eyes to block out the horrifying shapes that the trees were taking on around her. A twig snapped not too far away causing Sakura's eyes to snap back open and sweep across the landscape around her, but she was still alone. Sakura's teeth began to chatter; she was only wearing a light spring dress, and the air was becoming increasingly cold around her. The pink-haired girl looked up at the sky; it was getting darker.

 

Sakura swung her legs over the edge of the huge stone table and gingerly propped herself up on her stiff, cramped legs. She stretched out her tired limbs and looked down at the table. There was a small pile of sand on it: the demand for the sacrifice, for her. Tears welled up in the corners of the girls' eyes. She didn't understand why her village put up with the stupid tradition. A vampire would leave their mark on the table, and a girl would be left there as an offering to keep the undead pacified. All of the sixteen year old girls in the village would be gathered and forced to draw lots to see who would be taken, and this time Haruno Sakura was the unlucky girl. She began to curse her village, the traditions, and the vampires. Quite loudly, as it were.

 

“Harsh language,” a monotonous voice said. Sakura shrieked and spun on her heel. Facing her was a man with pale skin, red hair, and icy green eyes with heavy black circles around them. He was dressed in black with a gourd slung across his back. When he opened his mouth to speak again, Sakura saw a row of gleaming white teeth, two of them long, sharp, and deadly looking. “We're leaving,” he said simply as the pile of sand came to life and drifted lazily off of the sacrificial table and wrapped itself around Sakura's mouth and nose. The girl struggled to tear the rough grains away, clawing and scratching at the sand. The red haired vampire gave the smallest of smirks at the vain attempts of the girl. After another minute or two's struggle, Sakura's small frame crumpled.

 

 

Sakura jolted awake. Her hand immediately went to her throat and she gulped down as much air as she could. Realizing she could breathe freely again, Sakura looked around the room that she was in. She was sitting on top of a huge four-poster bed draped in faded burgundy blankets with a musty smell; it appeared she had been dropped there unceremoniously. The room was huge and made of sandstone, with glass double doors leading out to a balcony without a railing. The room was completely bare of any furniture or decoration except for the bed and a chest of drawers. Sakura pushed herself up and made her way over to the balcony.

 

She stepped outside onto the small, rounded platform, noticing that she was quite high up. The sky was completely dark with no stars or moon to shed any light. Sakura could barely make out the horizon, although it wasn't much to see, just plain, barren sand stretching on for miles. Sakura shivered as a cold wind blew through her thin clothes; she had never been in the desert before and was not used to the shifts in temperature.

 

Sakura would have expected her mind to be racing, but instead only one question surfaced: why was she still alive? Ever since she was a child, she had heard the rumours of what happened to the ill-fated girls who were given over to the undead, each tale more terrible and horrifying than the last. Was he going to play some kind of sick cat-and-mouse game with her? Was he planning something? The thought sent a shiver down the girl's spine and her stomach contorted with nausea.

 

Sakura jumped when the door to her room swung open on its hinges, hitting the wall with a resounding bang! Sakura retreated back into her room, closing the glass door behind her. She took a few tentative steps towards the door and peeked around the frame to see who had opened it, but nobody was there. Suddenly, an invisible hand began to tug at the hem of Sakura's red dress, pulling her out into the corridor. The girl shrieked and tried to resist, but another set of hands behind her began to push. Sakura clawed at the door, but she was dragged out. The invisible force pushed her down the hall and forced her down several flights of stairs, with the light tug still at the edge of the girl's dress, hanging on and pulling like it was some kind of game. Finally, Sakura reached her destination. She was pulled into a large room that was completely bare except for a long wooden table with a single chair at one end, a large window. Standing before it staring out at the sand was the red haired vampire. The force behind her gave in and Sakura fell back with a loud thud and a small “oof.”

 

The vampire did not turn around, nor acknowledge Sakura's presence for a while. Sakura didn't know if she should have dared to move at all. She decided to play safe and stay on the floor quietly.

 

Finally, the vampire took a sharp intake of breath and began speaking without moving his eyes. “I am Gaara. I know who you are so there is no point in introducing yourself,” he stated stoically as Sakura opened her mouth. “Don't leave the castle, don't leave your room unless I summon you, don't disturb me, and don't try to run away. I will know. If you need anything, ask the servants.”

 

“Servants?” Sakura asked. She didn't know that any other humans lived in the castle.

 

“They brought you here,” Gaara explained without emotion. For what seemed like the millionth time, a shiver went down Sakura's spine.

 

“Um, I—” Sakura began, but she was cut off.

 

“You are not dead yet because I have chosen to keep you alive for now. If you wish to stay that way, do not break my rules. You may eat here and then return to your room.” Gaara finished and left the room without so much as glancing at his captive. Sakura's eyes followed the vampire as he swept out of the room, leaving her alone.

 

Sakura felt shaky and weak. He had chosen to keep her alive? What for? Ever since she was a child, Sakura had heard the rumours of what happened to the sacrificed girls, each more grim and gory than the last, yet she was spared. For now, the nagging voice in her head hissed.

 

The pink haired girl nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a tug at her dress. She looked up to see the table laden with food. Sakura's stomach gave a loud rumble. Now that she wasn't as afraid for her life, she realized how hungry she was. She pulled herself off the ground and sat down gingerly in the chair that was pulled out for her.

 

 

Gaara paced in his messy study, the gourd on his back thumping up and down. Anger coursed through his cold veins. No, not anger, complete and utter rage. Had it been anyone else besides the fiery haired vampire he would have screamed out loud. Instead, he flung the piles of scrolls and books off of his ornate desk. He leaned down on his palms and took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down; he wasn't acting like himself. His head twitched to the side and a thick black-bound volume strewn on the floor caught his eye. Slowly, he picked it up and studied it with his cold jade eyes.

 

 

Sakura had done battle with many states of mind in her short life: happiness, sadness, grief, rage, helplessness. But now she faced the worst of all: boredom. It was almost daybreak. Sakura had returned to her room as instructed and had found it bare and boring; just the way she left it. She had alternated between pacing the room, attempting to sleep, standing on the balcony staring at the endless sand dunes, and rewriting the events of the past week in her mind.

 

Sakura had thrown herself back down on the musty bed. She dramatically flung an arm over her eyes to shield the barren walls from her view. Dear God, take me now, she thought grimly, easily forgetting her fears of Gaara in the face of all consuming nothingness. She rolled over and sat up as quickly as if a snake had been put in her bed. Sitting not two feet away was a round table with an old, thick, black book on top that had not been there a second before.

 

What in the name of high holy hell is going on?

 

Curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura gently picked the book up. The cover was old and worn, but it had once boasted an elaborate design. The girl flicked open the cover carelessly and read the title: The Hystory of the Vampyrs. Excellent, if there was anything more boring than nothing, it was history. But still, Sakura had tried staring at the walls, and she doubted if anything could be less entertaining. She flicked to the first page and slumped over the book in a deep slumber before she could finish the first paragraph of the introduction.

 

 

The sun had just set and Sakura was awoken by a tap on her shoulder. Of course no one was there, except for one of the `servants.' The door swung open on its hinges, obviously telling Sakura she was being summoned. Sakura tossed the heavy book on the small table and got up, stretched, and began her hike down the stairs.

 

When she reached the main hall, Gaara was walking towards the door; he didn't acknowledge Sakura. He swung the door open to reveal the figures of a tall vampire with ghostly white eyes and long dark hair, and a girl with brown hair and brown eyes who was startling familiar.

 

“TenTen?” Sakura asked, hardly believing her eyes.