The Seshin clan was a-buzz when their young mistress was born. And when they saw the small fire mark under her amber eyes, they deem her blessed and become very over protective of her. So much so, the girl has tutors at home so she never has to leave the main house, much to the girl's discomfort.
It is a cool summer night in the Sand Village and everyone in the Seshin clan was celebrating their young mistresses fifth birthday. But the young girl didn't want to be part of the fuss, so taking her small white kit in hand she quietly sneaks over to the large garden wall.
"You go first, Kiki. I'll be over in a sec." The long brown haired girl places her friend on a low nearby tree branch to climb.
Gaara was spending less time inside the residence, smothered by the isolation. Outside was better, but not by much; people looked at him strangely and never wanted to play with him. There was more space to walk around though and he liked exploring the different areas of the village.
There was nothing extraordinary about this night, either, except that it was nighttime. His uncle was likely searching for him already and he wouldn't have long to explore in the dark. He found it wasn't really so different from the day until a white baby fox landed on his head and made him jump. Picking up the kit, he held it in front of him with wide eyes.
"Where'd you come from?" He asked, looking up to see a girl his age in a precarious situation. Concern froze him a moment and he held the fox pup to his chest. "Hey, be careful! You're going to fa-"
Miho had managed to get up the wall, though it was hard in her slippers and nice outfit. Making it she takes a deep breath getting ready to head down when she heard someone behind her.
"What?" Miho turns losing her balance on the wall and starting to fall.
"Ah-!" Gaara quickly raised his arm in her direction, grasping the girl within his sand and slowly lowering her to the ground. "A-are you okay? Why were you doing something dangerous like that?"
"I'm okay and I-" Miho starts sighing with relief then looks at the redish brown haired boy with big eyes. "You have special powers too?!" she looks at him amazed with curiosity, forgetting what she was doing at the moment.
"Huh?" Gaara blinked. "You... You're not afraid of me?"
"Why?" Miho blinks confused by that.
"Young Miss! Young Miss where are you?!" call a few men.
'Shoot.' Miho looks back at the wall realizing she's out of time.
"We gotta run!" Miho takes a hold of the sea blue eyed boy's hand heading off.
"Huh?!" Gaara nearly tripped as the girl jerked him into a sprint, holding the small fox with care as he did his best to stay steady on his feet. "Why are we running?"
"They'll catch us if we don't!" Miho calls as she pulls him along.
Stopping at the small park they both drop by the swings. Kiki then hops out of the boy's arms licking Miho's face to make sure she's okay. As her person laughs she then goes back over to the boy licking his cheek with a wagging tail.
"Wh-who?" Gaara asked in alarm, ready to stop and defend the girl when he was pulled down near the swings. He watched the girl with wide-eyed confusion, gradually relaxing as he realized there was no actual danger. Laughing almost nervously as Kiki jumps up to lick his cheek, he smiles. "So, who were we running from?"
"My... guards." Miho admits sadly.
"You have guards, too?" The boy asked before he could stop himself, excitement fading into solemn realization. "You, too?"
Miho nods then stands heading over to the swings.
"I can't do anything without anyone stopping or looking over everything. But I just want to have fun; swing on swings, play with Kiki outside, and maybe have some friends." Miho swings the seat with her standing on the seat, Kiki yipping in the nearby sand.
Gaara went over and sat in the swing next to Miho, looking up at the girl with understanding. He lowered his eyes to the ground when he spoke. "I don't... have any friends, either."
Miho jumped off the swing landing perfectly in the sand. She then walked over to Gaara.
"We can be friends then. What do you think?" Miho smiling at him gently.
"We...?" He raised his head. Seeing such an earnest look in her eyes, he smiled. "I think... I think I would like that."
"My name is Miho Seshin. What's yours?" Miho smiles at him happily.
"My... Gaara," he said, hesitating. What if the only reason she wasn't looking at him like the others was because she didn't recognize him? But she saw him control the sand... "My name is Gaara."
"Nice to meet you Gaara." Miho says still not understanding why he looks so scared.
"Lady Miho!" Calls two men running up with large foxes beside them and some man next to them.
"You don't kno-?" Gaara stops as the men run over, about to ask about their honorific when another, more familiar man joined them.
"There you are, Gaara," the blond man said in visible relief. "You had me worried!"
"I'm sorry..." Gaara looks down at the sand.
"Lady Miho you had all of us so worried! You should come back with us now!" The men look her over to make sure she's okay and eyeing Gaara oddly.
"Can't my friend come? Please?" Miho points over to Gaara with big eyes.
"But..." one man starts.
"It is my birthday right? Can't I have a guest?" Miho pouts puffing her cheeks.
Both guys look at each other, she had a point. They look over at the man and Gaara.
"Would you like to come to the Seshin household and honor us with your presence young Gaara?" The men bow their heads being polite.
Neither Gaara nor Yashamaru could hide their surprise, and the blond seemed to be considering it carefully. Gaara had begun losing stability lately, but perhaps this was the opportunity they needed. The girl wasn't afraid of him, and the guards with her hid any malice well. He looked down to his nephew, who was still staring in shock at the offer. Yashamaru smiled.
"Well, Gaara? Would you like to go?"
"I- I can?" The child looked up with hopeful eyes.
"We can go." Yashamaru ruffles his hair gently.
"YAY!" Miho cheered happily.
"We should get going so Lord and Lady don't worry." One of them men motions for them to get going.
"Come on!" Miho, having scooped up Kiki, then takes a hold of Gaara's hand once more pulling him along as she runs backwards still smiling at him.
"O-okay!" Gaara smiles as he's pulled along, glancing back at Yashamaru excitedly.
Seeing the blond smile in return made him feel warm. The indescribable feeling in his chest was lighter than it had ever been.
Once at the house Miho blow out her candles happy to have a REAL friend there for a change. Seeing Gaara clapping made her dizzyingly happy. She then pulled him along to different games showing him how they worked. She never wanted the night to end with her new friend beside her.
"That's young Gaara?" Kyo, an imposing man, stands next to Yashamaru as he watches them play.
"Yes," the man replied politely. "Thank you for allowing him as a guest tonight."
"Kind of hard to turn down the birthday girl." The man rustles his dark brown hair as he watches them.
'Though he's different than I thought.' His amber eyes are locked on the laughing boy as foxes try to play with him.
"She is quite spirited," Yashamaru notes in a kind tone. "She reminds me of my sister actually; strong willed and kind."
"True." Kyo sighs heavily remembering all the times she's already ditched her guards. "Though maybe I've been a tad over protective." he smiles at the laughing kids as Miho gets Gaara clumsily dancing in circles.
"It's only natural to want to protect the ones we love," the blond replied. "Even more so when they're children." He watched as Gaara played with the girl, uncaring of his mistakes.
This was the first time he had ever heard Gaara laughing before. A small smile remained on his face even when the boy fell; there was no danger even now. It was an immense relief. Perhaps this girl would be the one to save him.
"You okay Gaara?" Miho bends down to check on him.
"Heh, yeah," Gaara confirms with a grin, still laughing. "I've never done these things before."
"Wanna try again?" Miho holds out her hand grinning ear to ear.
"Yeah!" Gaara took her hand, feeling a warmth spread through his whole body. He had never imagined playing was like this. He could so easily forget about his curse and feel... Happy, he decided. He was happy.
The two played for what felt like ages and no time at all. But eventually they felt tired crashing on the ground half asleep next to each other.
"Come on princess, time for bed." Her father picks her up.
"No~ play with Gaara." Miho whines sleepily.
"You can play again another time." Kyo pats her back smiling over at the boy.
'Another time?' Gaara blinked tiredly, smiling as Yashamaru picked him up into his arms.
"Wait," he pleaded, looking back over his shoulder to the girl - to his friend. "Miho... thank you."
Miho sleepily smiled at him as she was taken off to her room. At that time a pretty amber eyed woman came over to them, she had been entertaining the older men all night but had been keeping an eye on them.
"And thank you Gaara for being a good boy." She smiles warmly at him. "Have a safe trip home and come again." she kisses the middle of his forehead.
Gaara flushed up to his ears, smiling with wide eyes. "I- I will."
"Thank you for having us," Yashamaru said with a nod, ruffling Gaara's hair. "Come, Gaara. You should sleep as well."
The walk home was silent, but Yashamaru could sense the young boy reeling as he rested against his shoulder. It wasn't until he was tucking the small child into bed that he met those blue eyes and saw tears. "Gaara, what's wrong?"
"I... I don't think anything's wrong," the boy assured his worried uncle. "But I don't understand what this feeling is. I don't want it to leave. And that woman... Yashamaru, is that the kind of thing that... that mothers do?"
"Yes," Yashamaru said, relieved. He sat down on the edge of the bed, wiping away the tears. "Even now, my sister watches over you, Gaara. Perhaps because she can't give you those things herself, she led you to someone who could. You were following the sand, weren't you?"
"Yes...?" Gaara looks at him tired and confused.
"Gaara, when you were born, my sister was so happy. She loved you so much that it's in your name," Yashamaru said with a smile. "You know that Shukaku can bring the sand to life. But I think that Karura-nee, your mother, poured all of her love into that sand. That's why it protects you."
"Love...?" Gaara looks at him with curiosity as sleep starts to take over.
"When you care intensely for another person and want to protect them, even if it means getting hurt yourself," Yashamaru explained. "To devote yourself to that person, that's love. It's very powerful, and I have no doubt that such a powerful love fills the sand around you."
"Yashamaru... Thank you," the boy said with a tired smile. "I think... Maybe I understand a little bit."
"I think so," the blond replied. "Get some sleep, now."