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1. Hinata
Behind him, the road stretches eastward, traveling down mountain paths and into the dust of old trees. Ghosts of shadows fall on the figure's silhouette, and in the darkness, Hinata can just barely make out Gaara's eyes. "What do you want?" Gaara says.
Hinata jumps. "I'm sorry," Hinata says. "I didn't mean to--please don't hurt me."
Gaara's eyes narrow. Hinata trembles despite herself. "You are not worth my time," Gaara says. He turns away from her, leaving Hinata to sink onto her knees. Not worth his time, she thinks. She collapses, her hands sinking into the dirt. Of course I'm not worth his time. I'm not worth anybody's time. I'm not even worthy enough to kill.
Hinata squeezes her eyes.
xXx
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There is so much fear surrounding the rest of the villagers. Her arm wrapped in a sling, she walks easily past the other would-be chunin competitors, looking uneasily past her shoulder. There, beyond the throng of strong-armed competitors and shinobi candidates, she sees Gaara standing motionless at the corner of the gall, the people moving past him like water around a stone. "Don't look at him," Shikamaru says. "Oy!" Shikamaru says, and it breaks Hinata from her stare. "That guy is dangerous," Shikamaru says. "You don't want to get him on your bad side."
Hinata nods. Behind her, Gaara stands, arms crossed and getting swallowed up by the crowd.
xXx
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After the match, Hinata can't stop crying. She's brought shame to the Head Family. She's humiliated. She presses the heel of her hand to her eye and sobs.
A shadow falls over her. Hinata looks up. "You're crying," Gaara says. His face is a mask; his eyes are cold. "Only the weak cry."
She's too ashamed to be afraid. Hinata hunches her shoulders, staring at the ground. "You're not weak," Gaara says. Hinata looks up.
Gaara turns, his calabash facing her. "He underestimated you," Gaara says. "I will not make the same mistake."
Hinata sniffs. A shadow passes, and then he's gone.
xXx
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2. Rock Lee
Just a few short minutes ago, Kimimaro was poised to kill them both. Now he's dead, body lying splayed on a bed of sand, blood dripping down the corner of his mouth.
"We must get back to the village immediately!" Lee says. He starts to move. "We must--"
Something cracks. Lee's eyes widen.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Gaara grabs Lee by the arm. "Bakka, don't move so fast," and he hoists Lee across his shoulder. "Your leg is collapsing under your weight," Gaara says. "At this rate your injuries will re-open. Let me help you."
"Gaara-san, please put me down," Lee says. "I am much too heavy for you, and this gourd--"
"This gourd is twice your weight and more unwieldy, I'm fine," Gaara says, and he bodily hoists Lee forward. Lee grunts.
"If I can't walk back to the village, I must do one hundred one-handed push-ups!" Lee says. "And if I can't do the push-ups, then I'll have to do one-thousand sit-ups!"
"If you don't be quiet, you won't be able to do any of those, I promise you," Gaara says. A bead of sweat forms on Lee's brow.
They stagger down the forest path, Lee leaning heavily on Gaara's shoulder. If only Gaara's chakra hadn't been used up in the last battle, he could easily give Lee a ride on a carpet of sand. But no. Gaara doesn't even have enough chakra to muster the strength to help levitate that gourd on his back; it pulls heavily around the straps by his shoulder blades. Nearly a day's walk, Gaara thinks, and the thought of it irritates him.
"You're very strong," Lee says. "Much stronger than I thought you'd be."
Gaara glares.
"Um, I mean--well you are a long-range fighter, naturally one would assume your taijutsu would not be as formidable," Lee says. "But I can see I am wrong!"
Gaara grunts. "Strength has nothing to do with it," Gaara says. He pulls Lee forward, dragging Lee's useless foot against the ground. "There is strength and mental stamina, both of which you need to mold chakra and control the sand. It's concentration," Gaara says.
"Oh, I see!" Lee says. "Just as you lack the physical capacity for taijutsu, I lack the mental fortitude for genjutsu! But we both make up for our deficiencies by being the best at what we can do! Isn't that right, Gaara-san?"
"You are really beginning to irritate me," Gaara says.
"Oh, but I was only saying--"
"You're saying that I'm not strong, that I hide behind my wall of sand," Gaara says. And to Gaara's irritation, his shoulder begins to give out under Lee's weight. Gaara grunts. "I need to set you down," Gaara says, and he helps lower Lee to the ground.
Lee leans against the tree while Gaara practically collapses, his cabalash hitting the ground with a thud. For a few moments, neither of them speak. Gaara rubs his neck and shoulder while Lee wraps his ankle. Then, inexplicably, Lee falls face first on the ground.
"Hey!" Gaara says.
"One, two, three, four--" Lee starts doing one-armed push-ups, pumping furiously.
"What are you doing?" Gaara says.
"I promised myself I would do one-armed push-ups for however long you would need a break!" Lee says. "Seven, eight, nine--"
A wall of sand slaps Lee backward. Lee falls on his rear with a thud.
Gaara's hand unfurls, then closes back into a fist. "That took the last of my chakra, but it was well worth it," Gaara says. Lee rubs his arm.
"Ow."
xXx
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The sun is beginning to set. Orange light crests over the horizon, shining into Gaara's eyes. "I wanted to apologize about what happened between us," Gaara says. "I know you said you don't hold grudges, but what I did to you...it was wrong."
Lee is quiet for a moment. They trudge forward, Lee's arm leaning heavily against Gaara's shoulder. Suddenly Lee breaks out into a huge grin. "It's like what Gai-sensei always said," Lee says. "After what happened, I questioned whether I would still be an excellent ninja. But now I know I'm still on that path, and in the end, I'm a stronger man for it. After all," Lee intones. "A broken bone only heals stronger."
"Hmph. You really are annoying," Gaara says. He readjusts Lee's weight, then trudges forward.
xXx
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3. Naruto
"Want to see a new move?" Naruto said. Gaara watched after him with interest. "Watch this!" Naruto said, and he began spinning his chakra around his hand. "Rasengan!" Naruto said, and he slammed his hand into the tree.
Gaara's eyes widened. "No hand seals," Gaara said.
"See?" Naruto said. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Gaara held out his hand. "So you just spin your chakra...like this?" And Gaara's chakra perfectly swirled into a spherical shape. "Rasengan!" Gaara said, and the entire tree exploded. He was definitely better with chakra than Naruto was.
Naruto frowned. "I guess that's why you're jounin and I'm still genin," Naruto said.
xXx
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Naruto decided to treat Gaara for ramen. It was the least he could do, considering he was now a jounin and all.
Naruto picked up his bowl and inhaled the steam, happily. "This is the best ramen in Konoha! You can even have their barbecue pork--and an egg, too!" Naruto motioned for the owner "Hey, old man! Make sure you give him a big bowl, this guy's a jounin now, he needs his energy!"
Naruto glanced back at Gaara, who was staring at his hands. Gaara didn't quite smile; he smiled with his eyes. Naruto grinned. "Hey, you know I'm just a genin, maybe you should be the one treating me!" Gaara looked confused for a moment, then reached out for his coin sack. Naruto punched Gaara in the arm. "Oy! I was just kidding!"
"Be careful what he says, you may end up treating him after all," the owner said. The owner winked, and set the bowl of ramen in front of Gaara. It was loaded with barbecue pork and egg and even a little lobster. The shop owner would give lobster to just anyone. Whenever Naruto treated someone, the shop owner always gave a little something special in his friend's bowl.
"Eat, eat!" Naruto said. "Iruka-sensei used to treat me here after school. That's how I got hooked! Now I eat here almost every day! You'll see! It's the best ramen you'll ever have!"
Naruto picked up the bowl and started eating. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the broth was seasoned just right, and Naruto slurped it up, happily. He glanced over at Gaara, who had hunched into himself. His eyes were sad.
"Yashamaru used to treat me to red bean jelly," Gaara said. "I never liked sweets, but I liked that he kept me company. He said I was his precious person, but..."
Gaara looked sad, and Naruto didn't like that. Naruto sat up straighter and thumped on his chest. "Yashamaru was a fat-head and a traitor!" Naruto said. Gaara looked up. "Gaara, if you lived in Konoha, Iruka-sensei would treat us both to ramen! And even though I like red bean jelly, he wouldn't force you to eat it, he'd treat you to something that you like! Like gizzard or salted tongue or whatever it is you eat!"
"Oy oy, keep it down," the shop owner said. Naruto glowered. He didn't like it when Gaara was sad. Gaara was a jounin, now, he could do anything. He was one step closer to being Kazekage. And then an idea occurred to him that would cheer Gaara right up.
"Hey Gaara!" Naruto said. "After we finish this ramen, we should go and fight! See who's stronger! Maybe now that you're a jounin, maybe you can actually beat me!" Naruto searched Gaara's face. "Hey Gaara," Naruto said. "What's wrong?"
Gaara stared at his ramen. "I won't fight you," Gaara said.
Naruto blinked. "Eh?"
A breeze blew, gently rustling the robes and the hair around Gaara's face. "Naruto-kun," Gaara said. "It is true I was passing by Konoha village, but I have been looking forward to visiting you ever since I became jounin. At home, I have no one. No one to acknowledge what I've done. No one to feel pleased for me or happy for me. No one to feel proud...."
Gaara's hand tightened into a fist. He was shaking; Naruto could see it in his eyes. "Naruto-kun," Gaara said. "You are the only one who acknowledges my existence. And because of that, I will not fight you. I will not fight my only friend."
The breeze grew stronger, and Naruto shivered. Gaara somehow seemed smaller now, hunching up into himself. There is no point in living without someone to acknowledge you for yourself. Naruto understood. For all his advancements and his swift rise in rank, Gaara was still alone.
"Gaara," Naruto said, and it made him feel sad. Gaara smiled.
"This is very good ramen," Gaara said, and Naruto smiled, too.
A/N: I only recently started watching Naruto, so this is written around episode 135.