This is my story about the sexiest guy in Naruto (my opinion) therefore, don't like don't read. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to add a disclaimer, but I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own Naruto O_O if I did... Well, that would be BAD! ^_^ please enjoy!
"Sumimasen! You must be Gaara-sama, ne? My name is Chiru, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Gaara watched the girl bowing before him without comment. His two siblings bit their lips in order to keep from laughing. They could never be certain how he would take their humor. After a moment though he nodded at the girl and they relaxed a bit, sending one another meaningful glances.
The girl named Chiru didn't seem to notice how tense the three siblings were. She had impossibly long auburn hair, that had been fastened into two messy pigtails right above her ears. Even worse, she had white ribbons tied to them, and a couple of haphazard freckles splattered over her sharp nose. This, along with her huge, unblinking coppery eyes and slightly pointy teeth made her seem as much like a little devil child as Gaara himself. Although the two siblings had to admit that she was pretty cute, they weren't sure just how good this vacation could possibly be for their temperamental little brother. He already seemed more tense than when he'd first arrived.
"Ano... I'm Temari, and this is Kankuro and Gaara-sama," Temari laughed awkwardly, fully aware that she had added an honorific to her little brother's name. Her siblings didn't even blink at the title, but the Chiru seemed fascinated by her choice of words.
"Kawai! Gaara-chan is so important!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. She seemed oblivious to how all three at them stiffened, even when she grabbed Gaara's hand and led him cheerfully to the rickety mansion behind her.
"Gaara-chan, Yuzuki-sensei is waiting inside for you. You should be nice to her, because she's very shy, okay? You'll love this vacation!"
Chiru turned back with a giggle, ignoring Gaara's firm tug in order to escape her grip. The girl studied Temari and Kankuro in turn, making them both blush slightly. Kankuro had never met someone even nearly as intimidating as Gaara, yet this girl treated him like a plaything... It was almost hard to meet her gaze as an equal human being.
"Isn't Chiru an odd name...?" Temari started, trying to stop the foolish child from getting herself killed.
"Ah, it is?" the girl asked with wide-eyes, one hand flying to cover her mouth. Kankuro could almost see the flowers popping up behind her – a total air-head.
"Chiru-sama!" they watched an elderly lady stumble from the house, panic evident in her eyes. She stormed fearfully to where they stood and began to apologize fervently to Gaara.
"Please forgive Lady Chiru for her direct manner, Kazekage-sama!" The lady begged, fearfully lowering her gaze in order to avoid Gaara's icy turquoise glare.
"Not at all," he replied monotonously, watching Chiru wink at him from behind the lady. Gaara was uncertain of how to act around the girl. Normally people treaded lightly around him, keeping their eyes down, speaking softly and generally avoiding any lasting or memorable contact for fear of death. Although he had grown used to a certain amount of friendliness in the past few years, people still feared him fiercely. Yet this girl acted like he was an old school friend of hers... Not only that, but the old lady had referred to her as a "Lady" thus she was nobility.
"Mataka! Everyone complains that i'm too blunt. Am I, Lord Kazekage?" she stuck her tongue out at Gaara, receiving multiple gasps from her audience and a slight widening of the eyes from the Kazekage himself. With a chuckle and a wave the auburn-haired girl took off, her long legs carrying her quickly over the grasslands to wherever she was headed. The old lady apologized again in the youth's absence; stumbling over herself to lead them toward the mansion.
(Gaara's point of view.)
Gaara studied the beautifully decorated house with dislike. He couldn't help but be annoyed to be on a forced vacation. He had had a couple of headaches and here Tsunade forced him into taking an entire month off from his duties! Not only that, but he had to stay in some Konoha vacation place with no one around for miles. It was like hell to the frosty Kazekage. He glared furiously at everything that moved, not even bothering to feel amused when the old lady kept tripping over her feet in order to serve him.
In all honesty Gaara would rather have just stayed quietly at home. It didn't help that his siblings were forced to join him and leave Suna practically defenceless as far as he was concerned.
"Yuzuki had to go back to Konoha urgently, but she already made up your rooms. She said that she laid out activities in order for you to amuse yourselves, and asked that you request whatever else you would like," the old lady – having introduced herself as Yuki – mumbled to the Kazekage. Gaara ignored her, staring instead at the fading sun outside the window. He had a dull ache between his ears, and already he knew that he would be unable to sleep. Ever since the removal of Shukaku he could sleep, but his years of insomnia had not passed. He slept about two days every two weeks if he was lucky, and even then the sleep was fitful and it left him even more tired.
He sat and listened to his siblings as they thanked Yuki. He didn't bother answering when he was asked whether he was hungry. If he was on vacation he refused to do anything, which included thinking. They could decide for themselves whether or not he needed to eat. Take that, Tsunade. He thought grumpily.
"Yuki! I'm starving!" Chiru's voice sounded from the front door as it was slammed shut. Gaara had received food after all, which he was picking listlessly at beside his siblings. They were seated at the small dining table, but apparently Yuki ate elsewhere, because she emerged from the kitched with a worried frown.
"Temari-sama, please do not pay Chiru any mind. She is another customer here, but you needn't worry about her."
You look pretty worried. Who let's other customers stay with a Kage anyway? Gaara thought to himself, not bothering to look up when the girl plopped herself down beside him.
That is, until he felt something splatter on him. He glared up angrily to find Chiru smiling mischievously at him, shaking her randomly wet hair in order to splatter him full of water. With a pointed glance he wiped a droplet from his cheek and continued fingering the food. Her chuckle made him feel slightly childish – a feeling Gaara was not used to and did not like.
The dinner finished uneventfully. Thankfully Chiru was ravenously consuming her food, which left her with little chance to talk. The Subaku siblings made their way silently through their plates, quickly disappearing once they were done. Both Temari and Kankuro were yawning, but tried to hide their sleepiness until Gaara had dismissed them. The siblings – out of old habit – never did anything without their little brother's okay. Of course they didn't need it, but Gaara had always been the one to make decisions.
He was lost in his own world, though, and did not notice the silver moon rise from where he stared outside. Finally the siblings shrugged and said goodnight, barely receiving a grunt of acknowledgement from their brother.
His headache grew fiercer, even when all the lights had been blown out and the house was deathly quiet. He had no idea where everyone was, nor did he care. He clenched his fists and laid his forehead against the icy window – hoping to subdue the pain.
"Headache?" Chiru's sudden voice nearly made him jump. Nearly. Had she really been sitting in the room all that time? He watched her without reply, puzzling over how long she had been watching him. He would have sensed movement, so it must have been from the start.
"I know how to fix that," Chiru smiled, tilting her head invitingly to the side. Gaara couldn't help but wonder at how easily she spoke to him. He had seen Naruto speak with his friends in the same manner, but no one had ever spoken to him like that... not even once.
"I doubt it," he replied, turning back to the window. He heard her muffled laughter, and was surprised again when she tugged at his shoulder.
"Giving it a try wouldn't kill you," she whispered excitedly, tugging him gently to the door. Gaara barely noticed that he was following the strange girl outside. He wondered where she was taking him, but even more than that he wondered who she was. Her sparkling eyes nibbled at the back of his mind – as though he had seen her before. Was that possible?
"Gaara-chan, close your eyes," she ordered softly. He glared at her.
"It's Gaara," he stated, uncertain himself why the honorific annoyed him.
"Then, would Gaara-san be better?" she asked, smiling shyly at him. Gaara's breath hitched, a feeling he was entirely unfamiliar with. Why was this girl so...? he didn't even know how to put it for himself. Provocative? He mused, disliking the thought immediately.
"Just Gaara," he sighed, closing his eyes and following the sound of her footsteps. He was relieved when she didn't laugh at him. Somehow she made him feel small.
The sound of splashing water reached his ears, which collided with his headache. He opened his eyes, frowning at the intruding sound. He stood before a breathtaking waterfall. The rocks were carved with slim, fluid streams that made the water seem almost ethereal in the dim light of the moon. Silver pebbles splashed down the rocks into the endlessly deep pool by his feet. He could see the stars reflected in the icy black water, and the scent of fresh wet earth enticed him to breathe deeply.
"Kawai, Gaara-chan... I'm glad you like it here too," Chiru chuckled, but Gaara ignored her. His face felt slightly hot, which puzzled him. Why would his face feel hotter than usual?
"Come sit here," she motioned to a rock close to the waters edge, which he leaned against. He watched her sit farther to the side of the majestic waterfall and pull out some kind of instrument. It was carved from wood, with a couple of strings... a lyre, Gaara remembered from his old lessons.
"Just relax, Gaara-san," she murmured, toying with his name again. He wanted badly to snap at her, but his headache was forcing him to close his eyes. He felt nearly nauseous with pain. He breathed heavily, leaning against the icy stone and trying to cut out the heavy sound of the water. When a couple of sweet notes joined the bubbling water his eyes shot open again.
Chiru played a soothing melody that mixed perfectly with the low, monotonous sound of the waterfall. The sound blended into a soft song, almost like a lullaby. Gaara watched the strange girl as she plucked at the strings, humming beautifully to the tune.
"Do you know the words?" he asked, suddenly curious. Chiru stopped playing and smiled at him.
"Do you want to hear me sing?" she asked softly, her voice subdued in the soothing night. He nodded, trying to seem nonchalant. He was curious about her. He had never been interested in music before, but she was good with the lyre...
"All right, but take a sip of the water; it'll help with the headache.
"The headache is gone," he growled. She watched him silently, folding her hands together. After a while he gave an angry sigh and moved to the water's edge. He wasn't used to being bossed around. For a moment he nearly felt sympathy for his siblings, who always had to feel this way.
The water was chilly to the touch, but not too cold to drink. He brought some up to his mouth and took a tentative sip. Gaara disliked water – seeing as how it ruined his sand – but the light, nearly crisp taste of the fresh river water danced over his tongue and cooled his mouth. He savoured the taste for a moment, before leaning back against his rock and shooting Chiru a pointed glare.
She handled it with the same good-humored laugh she seemed to use for everything, and began to pluck at the strings again. It was the same melody, but this time with added words. Her voice was high, but not unpleasantly so. She caught the notes in the song and changed them into something magnificent, or so it seemed to Gaara. He leaned against his rock, allowing the sweet sound of her voice, and the fresh taste of the water to bring him to a point of utter relaxation. Gaara couldn't remember ever truly relaxing as he did while he listened to her play. He wasn't sure when the song ended and the next began, but he sat listening until his cold eyes finally slid closed and the soft music dragged him into unconsciousness...
(Chiru's point of view.)
Chiru was thrilled when she saw Gaara fall asleep. She kept playing, allowing deep slumber to take him before she finally set the instrument down. She hadn't played in so long that the continuous plucking of the strings, and the cold night air had made her fingers numb. She was surprised to find them bleeding, and licked them off thoughtfully as she watched Gaara's peaceful expression.
She had never seen the child of that man so peaceful. She wanted to cuddle him up and protect him from everything in the world. Chiru sighed, looking at the brand on her thigh. She couldn't help but wish, day in and day out, that she could be a part of his world too. She crept closer to his sleeping form, being careful not to disturb him. She layed him back comfortably in the grass, throwing a blanket she had carried along over his lean body.
He seemed so vulnerable in his sleep that Chiru had to bite her hand in order to keep it from removing the stray red locks from his eyes. She had hated the loneliness she had seen in them before. She had hated that she had not been there for him.
"Oh Gaara, I love you so..." she murmured sadly, laying his head on a soft patch of grass. She leaned herself against the rock, sitting up to keep watch over the sleeping man. He would get enough rest this night, she would make certain of it...
(A/N well there you go. Gaara has a creepy little stalker and all O_O I hope he wasn't OOC and I'd love reviews! Even criticism (it helps) so thanks for reading and please R&R!)