~Disclaimer~ I do not own Naruto any of the characters or places from the Manga. All I do own are the Characters Imaru and Kiyochi and the plot of this story!

~ Anything written in italics is a characters thoughts, or letters to a character~

Chapter 1: Happy Birthday Imaru.

She was sat on her favourite swing; it was here that she had met her best friend. That day was as fresh in her memory as if it had been just that morning, in fact it had been 14 years ago. They were four, she was new in town… new to the country even she didn't know what he was then, what was inside of him. He seemed so shocked when she sat next to him on the very swing she was sat on now, and she couldn't understand why. She relived her first day in the Village hidden in the sand with a sigh as she swung herself gently, lazily on the swing, her head leaning against the metal chain that creaked when she moved.

~*~ 14 Years Ago~*~

"Imaru I have to go talk to some people about somewhere for us to live." Her father told her as he set her down on her feet, she looked up at him with her bright violet eyes, shining with questions, "Look there's a playground why don't you go and make some new friends whilst I'm busy, I'll come back for you when I'm done." Her father looked down at her with tried eyes, a darker shade of violet then her own. "Why are we here daddy?" She whispered almost inaudibly, her father replied with a sigh to which she looked up with saddened eyes, brimming with tears. "Just go an' play Imaru please, I don't have time for your questions right now!" Her father pleaded softly with her, he pulled her close to him and hugged her. "Okay daddy, I'll see you later" and with that said she had wondered off towards the playground, with a sigh Imaru's father walked towards a building.

Imaru reached the gate of the playground, looking through the bars she saw children of all ages playing different games, some were playing tag others where playing football. Some where playing with their father's, some with their mothers, others were playing with both their parents and she felt a pang of pain touch her heart.

As she looked around she saw there was one little boy with red hair and bright green eyes lined with dark rings holding a teddy bear sat on one of the swings, he was alone and looked sad. She struggled with the lock on the gate till a boy about two years older then herself opened the gate for her "Thank you" she said with a slight smile and she ran off before he could say anything in response.

As she approached the swings she felt a knot twist in her stomach, "what if he doesn't want to talk to me?" She thought and almost turned back but before she could he'd looked up at her curiously, his bright green eyes looked shocked but curious as they took her in, when he finally looked her in the eye his own eyes became even wider if that was possible. "Her eyes are as bright as mine" he thought. She was getting unsettled and self-conscious by his staring and had started to fidget.

"Hello?" Her voice was so quiet she thought that maybe he hadn't heard her, just as she was about to repeat herself he spoke.

"You have very bright eyes" he said, then looked appalled at himself when he saw the surprise on Imaru's face and quickly added a "Hello"

"Is anyone sitting on that swing?" She asked as she examined her own feet she looked up under her blonde hair to see that he was still shocked.

"No, no one even comes near me" he said with sadness seeping into his voice "Why are you here?" He questioned her quietly.

"I don't have any friends here... can I sit down?" Imaru asked as she inched closer to the strange little boy.

"I don't have any friends here either, I don't know why they wont come near me" his voice broke as a tear trickled down

his cheek, when she saw this Imaru rushed to his side and hugged him.

"Shush, don't worry I'll be your friend if you want." She whispered into his ear as she used her sleeve to wipe away his tears, "What's your name?" She asked him as she let go of him and took his teddy bears other paw then sat on the swing next to him.

"Gaara," Was his reply. "Would you really be my friend? What's your name?" He asked as he looked down at his teddy bears paw in her hand and a small smile reached his lips for the first time.

"Imaru, and of course I will be silly. Where are your mummy and daddy? Why aren't they here playing with you?" She asked out of curiosity as she looked at the other children playing and laughing with their parents and siblings and felt jealousy and had to look away before she too started to cry, Gaara saw the look of pain on her face even though she thought that he hadn't.

"I don't have a mum, she died when I was born and my dad doesn't pay any attention to me." He answered her questions not even trying to cover up the sadness in his voice anymore, Imaru's eyes were staring at him and when she heard his answer they softened on him and showed she knew and shared his pain.

"My mum died when I was born too" she looked down and examined her feet, "and then my daddy moved us here and I don't understand why!" Her voice cracked as she realised she missed her home and started to cry.

Gaara sat on his swing watching her curiously for a minute then got up, hugged her and used his teddy's paw to wipe away her tears which made her smile again which in turn made him smile too.

"Imaru!" Shouted a voice from across the playground that made Gaara and Imaru look up, Imaru's face dropped.

"That's my dad, I should go." She said as she climbed off the swing and headed towards her father, and then stopped as if she'd forgotten something important "I'll see you here tomorrow, yeah?" She said over her shoulder as she ran off.

"Yeah, sure" Gaara whispered to himself as he sat back down on the swing and looked up at the sky seeing it was almost night time again.

~*~ Present Day~*~

A single drop of water dripped onto her shoes, she was trying so hard not to loose control completely. As she let out a deep breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding in she saw a shadow form on the ground in front of her, someone was standing behind her… or was she just imagining things again. Seeing the things she wanted to see, with a sigh she looked over her right shoulder to see nothing there. This just brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes.

"Why Gaara…? Where…. Where did you go? Why did you leave me here?" She thought out loud as her tears fell over the brim of her eyes, landing in small droplets staining her dress.

Wrapping her arms around her waist to try comfort herself she looked up towards the night sky, it was clear like that night a year ago, you could see all the stars and the moon full, bright and shiny hanging quietly in the black blue sky. That awful night came flooding back to haunt her, forcing more tears from her eyes. Crying harder she relived that night.

~*~ One year ago~*~

"Imaru would you go and answer the door please?" Her father shouted up to her room from the kitchen.

Imaru had been sat on her bed writing in her diary, drawing as well. She set her pencil down on the bed and heaved her self up and off of it then trudged down stairs, "Why do I have to answer the door? It's only gonna be for you anyways!" She muttered to herself as she descended the stairs of their small home.

When she opened the door she was already turning her face over her shoulder to shout for her father.

"Imaru?" It was a voice she loved hearing, a smile on her face she invited him in, looking out through the door at the night sky it was clear the stars like diamonds sparkling and twinkling at her, they brought a smile to her face "trust Gaara to be out now, you can see the moon perfectly" she thought as she turned to face him closing the door behind her.

They stood in the hallway of the small home, Gaara was now a good head height taller then Imaru, both 17, and there was an awkward silence that rang in their ears.

She looked up into Gaara's bright green eyes they were looking down into her own equally bright violet eyes, they were hard, cold and stern Imaru saw something in them she'd never seen there before, it frightened her as it wasn't a good something. "What's wrong?" She thought out loud, his eyes had always had that effect on her she couldn't help saying exactly what she was thinking like they put her in a trance.

At hearing her question Gaara's eyes softened and looked away shamefully "I shouldn't do that to her, I know what effect my eyes have on her, it's the same effect her own have on me" he thought shamefully to himself.

"Nothing is wrong Imaru" he lied to comfort her "I'm just having to go away for a while, that's all" he tried to make his voice sound light, tried to paint the picture it wasn't anything serious. It was her turn to us her eyes on him, they were watering, and shimmering with tears begging to be set free, then she looked away closing her eyes and pushing back the tears. The next time she looked up into Gaara's eyes her own were back to normal.

"I know your lying about it to me Gaara, but…" she was cut off by Gaara, he'd placed his index finger on her lips to shush her then he pulled her into a hug which was perfectly normal, her head resting on his chest his hands twisting the ends of her blonde hair, that was down to the middle of her back, in his fingers. He was gently humming a melody she had once sung to comfort him. He wrapped his left arm tighter around her waist and buried his face into her soft silk like hair breathing in deeply the scent he knew he'd miss most of all.

In an instance he had let go of Imaru's unsteady and shaking body, his arms down by his sides, his eyes cast toward the ground. "I'm sorry" he muttered to her, as he walked past her headed back towards the door he saw her eyes shut fighting back tears she didn't want to show, heard her deep ragged breath as she tried to calm herself.

As Gaara's hand reached for the door knob he remember he had come to give Imaru something, he turned to see her back facing him and feeling a familiar pang of guilt he sighed quietly, took the box out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the shelf next to the door, with one last look at her shaking figure he left closing the door behind him whispering to the night sky "Happy Birthday Imaru." And with that he was just a shadow of the night.

She stood in her hall knees weak barely holding her up, holding on to the banister so tightly her knuckles had turned white, she broke down and let the tears and pain consume her "Promise me you'll come back to me, please Gaara" she pleaded to the four walls that surrounded her, knowing he'd never hear her desperate plea.

~*~ Present Day ~*~

She wiped the tears away her eyes red and bloodshot now. She took a small box out of her satchel and held it in her right hand, reading the tag she'd read every day since the box had been given to her, the writing was in a familiar hand, one she had once loved to read. The note had been kept short and written in a deep red ink, the shade of love and passion she had once told him.

The note itself read:

"Happy Birthday Imaru

I'm Sorry for what I've done to you

Gaara"

Not once had she lifted the lid to gaze upon what was inside, never could she bear to see what he had left behind for her to keep forever.

"It always hurts so much, thinking about what could be inside" she thought out loud, a wave of pain ripping through her bring new tears cascading down her cheeks, she let out a scream to the night, a scream of pain anguish anger and hatred.

Her tears wouldn't stop flowing, these are the tears she held back that night, she closed her eyes to the world hoping, preying that it would all go away. So consumed was she in her pain she didn't hear the approach of someone who was now stood before her. The only thing that told her someone else was there was the soft gentle touch on her cheek catching a single tear perfectly on the tip of the stranger's index finger.

"You never opened it," stated a voice from above her head, it had a hint of sadness mixed in with a hint of being unsurprised. The voice was husky but still very familiar to Imaru, she looked up in shock thinking someone was pulling a joke on her.

She looked straight up into his bright green eyes, bright green but tired eyes. She just sat there on the swing watching the person move slowly toward the swing next to her in complete shock, speechless, she just stared at him.

"Not much has changed about him" she thought to herself, she looked away from him looking down at her feet, she heard a small sigh from beside her "Imaru, say something…" he pleaded with her his voice quivering and breaking when he whispered the word "Please."

She couldn't stop her self, tears streaming down her face once again she stood up throwing the box to the floor and ran away towards the gate of the playground, she knew it was pointless running away from him and she came skidding to a halt a few feet away from the gate, she couldn't reach it he was stood between her and the gate, the box was in his hand, his bright green eyes pleading with her, painful tears welling up in her eyes she collapsed to her knees.

In the blink of an eye he was on his knees in front of her pulling her closer holding her in his arms tightly, rocking back and fourth humming a faintly familiar melody in her right ear. "Imaru, I am so sorry." He whispered into her hair, tears rolling slowly down his cheeks landing gently onto the top of her head.

"Why? Why Gaara? When did you come back? I was just starting to deal with the pain, now I'm gonna have to start all over again when you leave once more!" Imaru's mind was whirling with questions, it made her dizzy and she felt a knot in her stomach tightened and twist making her want to throw up.

"Imaru, I'm here now just let it all out." Gaara whispered caringly into her left ear as he closed his eyes seeing for the first time the extent of the damage he had done to the one person he cared about, other then himself.

The words he'd whispered to her calmed her mind, she pushed her face into his chest, feeling -as if for the first time- the warmth he gave off. Her right hand tightened around the rough material of his shirt, pulling him closer she felt his strong arms hold her tightly his chest was well toned and muscular. And the faint scent of musk tantalized her scenes.

As her breathing calmed and the tears slowed he loosened his hold on her slender toned figure, pushing her away from him slightly he took in the details of her features how they'd changed. "She's so tired" he thought to himself as he saw the dark rings around her violet eyes, his eyes and heart saddened, "Is this what I've done to you?" He interrogated himself, appalled by what he saw.

Imaru could feel his unyielding gaze up on her face, it made her blush her cheeks were a bright red and felt very hot.

Seeing the sudden colour tinting her pale cheeks his mind took over, "She's so beautiful" it had been there on his mind for so long but this was the first time his inner voice had actually voiced this opinion, it shocked him.

"I can't stay here, in his arms it's too painful" Imaru thought with a sigh.

In a split second she'd made a decision. She pushed herself away from Gaara so hard he toppled over and landed softly in the sand. He hadn't even blinked before she had leapt over his shocked form and she was running along the rooftops, towards her home.

When he had corrected himself and was sat up he saw the box sat on the floor, small tears welled up in his eyes, he fought back the tears as he picked up the box.

~I shall update as soon as I can, would like to receive constructive chritisim please let me know what you think! ~