Tangled Love 1, a naruto fanfic

Tangled Love Chapter One: The Beginnings

A NaruVerse Fanfiction production

by Violet Dazley

Gaara stood silently over Suna, gazing out over the rooftops into the rising sun. He sighed. He was going to have to get ready soon. That year, it had been requested by the Hokage that he be at the Chunin exams. Reluctantly, the young Kazekage had agreed.

Gaara hated being Kazekage. It was so much work… and for what? Gaara sighed yet again. He knew the answer to that question. It was to keep his village and all who lived there safe. Gaara turned away and clutched his chest, closing his eyes in pain. A tear slipped from his eye. He knew that it was important to keep the villagers safe but… why did they all have to look at him like that? Every time he passed by, villagers would stare at him with fear in their eyes… or hatred. He asked himself the same old question: Why didn't anyone love him? Was it because of who he was? Or what he used to be—a killer? He dropped to his knees and began to sob. It was moments like this that he wished he weren't so important to everyone, that he were ignored once again, so he could just slip into the background—out of this cruel and unforgiving world once and for all. He felt his former longing for life slipping out from between his fingers like sand. If only someone could love him…. he thought. Then…well, then it wouldn't be so hard. His thoughts wandered to a friend of his, wondering if he was alright…worrying about him. He hoped that his friend hasn't pushed himself too far in his training…

Rock Lee awoke in the field he had been training in. The early morning sun fell on his face, warming his sweaty skin. He had been training all night since after dinner, as he always did. He looked up at the blue sky and sighed happily. "The sky is…so beautiful…" He whispered, smiling. Strangely, it reminded him of Gaara's eyes. 'No!' He thought to himself. He must not think of him, he must not! Every day, Lee thought of him. Why, he wondered. Why did his thoughts always return to him? He thought of Gaara as often as he used to think of Sakura…before she got with Sasuke. Lee frowned. He was pretty sure that all of that meant he liked Gaara. 'No,' He told himself again. 'We are colleagues, and nothing more.' Lee furrowed his brow. All of this was so strange to Lee. Even if he did love Gaara…there would be no chance of Gaara ever liking him; he had tried to kill Lee. Twice!

Lee sighed loudly. Then, there came a soft sigh from next to him, and looked over. To his surprise, the orange-haired girl from Suna was sleeping just inches from his body. Her brown raccoon ears twitched and she held her soft, black and brown striped tail close to her in her sleep. She looked so peaceful in her deep sleep. He did not want to wake her, but he had to go get breakfast. He was hungry from all that training! Lee moved carefully away from the sleeping girl and took a few quiet steps back before stopping and gazing at her. The girl shuddered and sat up in fright, looking around her in confusion. She spotted the indentation that Lee's body had made in the grass and put her hand on the spot where his head had been.

"Hello," Lee said. The girl looked up at Lee, and quickly pulled her hand away from the spot on her grass. "What were you doing, sleeping out here? You should be inside, in a comfortable bed where it's warm." The girl looked away and mumbled, "I couldn't sleep…" Lee was confused again. "Why would you sleep out here by me? I do not even know you." The girl looked at Lee with tears in her eyes. "I…I can't sleep by myself…and no one would let me sleep with them…so I went for a walk…and I saw you sleeping there. And I laid down by you…I hope you don't mind…"

Lee smiled at the girl. "It is all right." She smiled back at him. "What is your name?" Lee asked her. "Me? Oh. My name's Kira." She tilted her head and smiled at him. "Oh. Hello, Kira-chan. My name is Rock Lee." Kira giggled. "I knew that! Naruto-kun told me about you!" She laughed again. "Hi Lee!" With that, she sprang up and hugged Lee. Lee stood there, stunned. He had never been hugged like that…ever. Then, Kira let go. "Bye Lee," She said. "Serah and Akemi and Kaiya-chan are waiting for me!" She turned and ran away, leaving a stunned Lee in her wake.

"Gaara! Come on! Aren't you ready yet? We're going to be late!" Kankuro yelled from outside the door to Gaara's room. "I'll be there in a minute." Gaara told him sternly. He looked in the mirror, wiping the tears off of his face. He changed into his robes and put his hat on and went to the door. He lowered his head to hide the fact that he had been crying. Before he turned the handle, he closed his eyes and whispered, "Lee…"

When they reached the gates of Konoha, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were greeted warmly by Tsunade and led to their lodges. Tsunade had made some huge changes to the stages of the exam—giving the Genin two weeks between the second and third stage to recover, and maybe train—and that gave Gaara some time to relax before he had to take care of business.

The three siblings had just set their things up in the lodge, and Gaara had already hung up his hat and robes, changed his clothes, and ran out the door without a word. Kankuro and Temari sighed. "Aw, man, not again! We're supposed to watch him and make sure he doesn't get killed!" Kankuro said, exasperated. Temari looked at Kankuro with a wary smile on her face and said, "Kankuro, I think Gaara will be all right."