Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Onyx Rain ❯ Purple Moon ( Chapter 7 )

By the time the tent of night - pockmarked by glints of light and the crescent of a waxing moon - had been raised, Gaara had only finished what turned out to be a basketful of sand.

He leaned into a dune while the wind whistled against the front of the dune, sending stray grains of sand over its edge onto him and the stranger-girl, who was almost invisible in the shadow of the dune, seen only by the light that the cream garment she wore caught from the moon and stars.

Despite the cool, whipping wind, Gaara could still faintly hear her light breathing. A sign that she was still awake as well.

Gaara turned, forcing the sand to shape around his gourd as he faced the sky and its iridescent pixies of light.

The faint shape of a cirrus cloud breezed by the moon, briefly changing its hue from quail's egg blue and mercury to a purple blot in the sky. The cloud was only there for an instant; in merely a second the moon was there again, pale and soft. Its delicate, dragonfly-wing-quality light was a sharp contrast to the waspish, stinging rays of the sun. The wind picked up again, but it didn't bother him. The frigid night wasn't really a problem since the sand beneath him was still warm from the burning day.

Gaara briefly wondered if he was caught in some big metaphor - and immediately closed his eyes and pushed the scenery away. This didn't stay the flow of thoughts, though. Instead, it only brought newer more disturbing ones to his head, and Gaara could feel the questions irresistibly bubbling up to him lips. He bit back most, but still one came out.

"Girl. . . . what if I had emptied the gourd after returning from Konoha?"

In the shadow, he could still vaguely make out the lines of her face as it turned towards him. A frown was in place on her lips, though Gaara couldn't imagine why.

"I have a name, you know."

To this, Gaara had no reply.

"It's Maizul."

Still, no reply.

"If I answer your question, will you tell me yours?"

Silence descended once again, and Gaara heard something that sounded like a sigh. To break the heavy atmosphere, she began to speak again.

"If you had emptied the gourd earlier, you'd still have to clean it up. Just because you left it behind wouldn't mean that the mess was no longer yours."

The girl - no, Maizul - shifted so she had a better view of Gaara's eyes. Talking to Gaara was like talking to a wall or a plant, although admittedly the wall or plant in question wouldn't be able to ignore you so thoroughly when it decided that your words were nothing but inane chitchat. Still, she had to try. He was her charge.

"I answered your question. Now, tell me your name."

There was a brief pause, and then, to Maizul's surprise, his lips began to move.

"Gaara."

Maizul briefly contemplated the exchange that had just taken place. Gaara hadn't tried to kill her; he had even answered her question. He had even acknowledged her existence. Maizul resisted the temptation of laughter, choosing instead to form her feelings into words.

"That's the most I've ever heard you say!"