Chapter 1:

"An Arrival"

It's been…how long now?

A day?

A week?

A month?

Or a year?

The clock says a week but it seems longer than that.

I can feel them, almost hear them speaking.

They are investigating how to find me.

They need me because…

Of my strange abilities.

I can control the darkness.

Light poured in on my fragile face. Back in the other dimension, my curtains would always be up and I would usually train in the shade. I would be an assassin by night. That was all past me now. I was back home with the ones I finally realized I loved.

Gaara had taken me to my brother and mother. Mahaku wrapped me around his arms while my mother cried. They missed me, they actually missed me. I smiled with tears glistening in my eyes when I realized it.

Even Gaara was glad I was back, he told me he'd been searching for me but I wasn't anywhere to be found.

I wondered if I should have told them, told them everything. They wouldn't believe me so I kept my secret hidden. Maybe they would have believed me, no I think not. Well whether they like it or not, they have to face my truth.

I am not the girl I used to be.

I have murdered, killed dozens of innocents. I've felt their blood on my hands without remorse. Maybe I feel guilty because of my actions, I know I feel sadness. The girl that was emotionless, before meeting Gaara was back. I couldn't smile anymore even when looking at Gaara. The egret was too much. What would have happened if I never became one of the Forbidden? Would Gaara and I be more than just friends?

Sure my grades have improved, but that's also a mystery. I understand more now, I am more aware of my senses, I can control my emotions. What exactly Kashaku did to me I do not know. Maybe I can return to my innocence because it was stolen from me.

Flashbacks from my time in the Forbidden poured and filled my mind. The images and tears of despair made themselves clear to me. Was I Kusota Hurakai or Hateshi, leader of the Forbidden?

Only time would tell.

I tasted the blood in my mouth, a metallic taste. I had bitten my tongue accidentally and blood now oozed out of my wound. The teacher drowned on about something I could already understand. I had completed my homework with time to spare.

Gaara was absent from school today. That wasn't like him. I could never remember Gaara ever falling ill. Ever since the day I met him. It seemed so long ago but it was only about 4 or 5months.

I still kept my old hobby of reading instead of eating lunch with everyone else. My blue hair had disappeared when I became a Forbidden. I now had the blond short hair of the girl in my vision. It had taken me a while to realize she was my future self but I was naïve then.

I suspected new or signs of the Forbidden searching for me but none had come. They would never just let me go off, they were waiting for the perfect time. That had to be the reason. I still had my skills and abilities as a Forbidden. My sword was safely hidden in my room. My Forbidden cloak hung in the back of my closet where I could forget about it.

But I couldn't.

They changed my life, in a drastic way. I could no longer be just a girl. I had to be more, a murderer, a killer.

After school was let out, I made my way to Gaara's house. I held his homework in my hands and watched the other kids talk with their friends while heading home. I knocked on Gaara's door and heard footsteps slowly come to answer. Gaara opened the door and my heart throbbed.

"Gaara, why weren't you at school? Are you okay?" My voice was full of worry.

"Can't I get sick? It's nothing so don't cry for God's sake."

I tried to smile but Gaara left the door open after he left to go back to his room. That meant he'd let me enter. I walked in and closed the door behind me. I walked to Gaara's room and saw him sitting on his bed, looking out the window. His face, his eyes, I almost stumbled over my feet but caught myself.

Gaara directed his attention towards me; "You're so clumsy."

I sat next to him and handed him the packets and homework pages the teacher wrote down. He looked it over and began to start the work. I watched him in silence. Gaara never needed help on anything, he would never ask even if he did need help. He was that kind of person. The kind of person I loved.

I stayed over his house for dinner, Kankuro and Temari were glad to see me. Everytime I was in their home. I felt whole, I felt happy. Mahaku came to pick me up and see Temari. It rained a little and it reminded me of the day I came back. It was raining harder when I had come back but tonight was a little shower. I walked on while Mahaku spoke about his birthday. I knew he was pushing me to but him something he really wanted and I would probably buy him it. I couldn't help thinking about Gaara on the way home.

A block away from my house, I sensed something. I turned back to see no one following my brother and I. My hairs prickled up on my neck, it was a member of The Forbidden. It had to be no one else could have such stealth. In a flash, I had a vision of Rosuto in my mind and instantly knew it was him. The war had begun, The Forbidden were looking for their leader and they would not return without me.