Part 2 of the one shots based on artwork! The picture this work was inspired from can be found on deviantart. It's called "Stories" by the artist delicateblood.
Check out her tumblr too, she's super talented!
"Go away you Leaf Village freak!" they chanted as they kicked sand in her direction. "We don't want you here! Go back to where you came from! Or go far enough away where your forehead doesn't look so big!"
Sakura heard the collective laughter filter out of the crowd of children and watched as their backs retreated to another place to play their game.
She sniffed and fought back her tears as she turned and walked in the other direction. "I hate them." she mumbled to herself. "I hate this place, I hate this sand, I hate this heat...I hate everything about this village. I want to go home."
But she knew she couldn't do that. She was brought here with her parents and the Hokage in hopes of strengthening the alliance between Sand and Leaf. An exchange program of sorts in order to broaden the shinobi educational program in both countries.
She was stuck here.
Kicking a sand cluster into a plume of dust down the road, she mentally calculated how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds that were left before they started their journey home.
She walked through the village alone watching as the merchants shouted claims of superiority for their products to the passersby.
The Sand village was so different from Leaf. There was only certain hours of the day where you would see people walking the streets. When the heat hit it's peak, the city turned into a ghost town. Sakura understood why the people here were so harsh. She decided that if she lived in a place of such extremities like the desert, she would probably be the same way.
There was one thing she liked about this country, the sunsets. They were were unlike any she'd ever seen before. Konoha had too many trees and hills that blocked most of the sight.
The sun was starting to set as she ascended the stairs to a tall building. Normally she would go to the building where her temporary room was, but she lost track of time and would miss the sunset by the time she got there. Scanning the buildings around her, she decided that they would do. They were high enough to see beyond the other buildings, and there weren't any children around to make fun of her.
As she climbed the stairs on the outside of the building, she heard a scuffling noise and stopped to listen. If a group of children were trying to sneak up on her, she would bolt.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." she heard someone muttering and cautiously stepped off of the stairs and onto the adjacent balcony to investigate.
Attempting to remain undetected, she peered around the edge of the stairs. She found a small boy with messy red hair sitting on the edge dangling his feet over the side.
She approached him slowly, trying not to startle him. "Was that you I heard by the stairs?" He didn't respond, just kept his gaze fixated on the world below him.
He seemed normal at first, but as she got closer to him, something inside of her told her that she was deadly wrong about that.
"You don't belong here." he said softly under his breath.
The words from the children before crept up through her mind and fresh tears started to form and sting her eyes. "Is that all anyone says around here? No wonder nobody likes you or your stupid village! If I had my way, I would be at home now!"
"Wait!"
His reaction startled her as she turned to face him again.
"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously cocking his head to the side. His eyes narrowed as if he was sizing her up. Suddenly all her prior hostility melted away as she was pinned by his gaze.
"My name is Sakura."
His eyes narrowed more at her name.
"I'm from the Land of Fire."
The apprehension in his posture dropped immediately at that news.
"So you don't know who I am?"
"No... Should I...?"
"My name is Gaara!" he all but shouted at her. He tottered in his sudden enthusiasm, but quickly recovered as he clutched his bear to his chest. "I live here."
"I like your stuffed bear." she offered.
"Thank you, I like him too."
"Do you go to the shinobi school? I don't think I've ever seen you there."
"No, I'm only allowed to train with my father. They won't let me into the school."
"But I thought all shinobi had to go through the academy..."
"Not me. Father says I'm special."
"Why?"
He shrugged and cradled his bear tighter to his chest. "I heard him tell the teachers that it was too dangerous."
"Why are you up here?" he mumbled into the head of the stuffed bear.
Flashing him a toothy grin, she pointed promptly to the sky. "I wanted to watch the sunset."
"You don't want to play with the other kids?"
She shook her head silently.
Are the other children mean to you?"
Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. How does he know? Swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in her throat, she nodded. "They hate me. They call me a freak and make fun of me for my forehead."
"Why?"
"They say it's too big."
Hesitantly, he pushed her hair off her forehead and did the same with his own.
"Mine is the same size as yours."
"Why are you up here by yourself?"
"They don't like me either. No one does."
"Why? You seem nice to me."
Removing his hand from her forehead, he shrugged. "My Uncle says that people are scared of things they don't understand."
"But you're just like me."
"I'm nothing like you."
Silence engulfed them as she chose not to challenge him. Sand slowly started to circle around his arm and hand and she couldn't help but stare in awe.
"That's amazing..." she said as she reached out to touch it. How did you learn to do this?" His eyes widened in shock as she continued to pet the sand as if it were a timid kitten.
"My Uncle says it's my mothers protection."
"Would you like to see a trick?" she nodded her head absentmindedly, still completely enamored with the swirling sand.
He stood up and moved to jump off the balcony. "Watch this!" Sand appeared out of nowhere and stopped his fall instantly. Sakura couldn't help but stare in shock.
"Sometimes I see people fall or cut themselves, but it's never happened to me because the sand always stops it before it happens."
The look on her face stopped his explanation immediately. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you...I just wanted to show you. You can leave if you want."
Shaking her head, she motioned for him to sit back down.
"The other kids are scared of me so they won't let me play with them. I've always been alone. My other friend tells me that he's always with me, but I never see him."
"What other friend?"
"He lives in my head. He talks to me."
"I think I know what you mean." she offered.
He looked at her in disbelief. "You do?"
She smiled again and nodded her head in affirmation.
"You're nice, I like you." he murmured. He was looking at her like she'd disappear in a puff of smoke before his eyes.
"Thanks" she looked down at her hands as a light blush crept across her cheeks. This seemed to confuse him as he hugged his arms around his teddy bear tighter.
"You're sure you're still not scared of me?" She shook her head, still gazing off as the sun continued to recede under the horizon.
Gaara studied her face, she knew it was dirty and that he could see the clean streaks from where a few stray tears got away from her control.
"You shouldn't let them hurt you like that."
"I know." she responded quietly.
"I won't hurt you." he offered. "Do you want to hurt me?"
"Of course not! I like you." she smiled.
"Does that mean we're friends?" he asked, trying to mask the excitement bubbling up in his voice.
"I guess it does."
The smile that crept across his face was contagious, and she found that she was mirroring his expression. They sat silently and watched the sun dip below the horizon.
"You're going home soon, aren't you?"
"In a few days."
"Can I see you tomorrow?"
"Sure, I'd like that."
"Gaara!" they heard a man's voice calling somewhere in the distance.
"I have to go now." he said as he jumped up and brushed the dust off of his clothes.
"Who's that?" she asked as she scanned the streets for the owner of the voice.
"Yashamaru. I'm not supposed to be out right now. If he finds me up here, I'll be in trouble again."
"I'll meet you here tomorrow then?" she asked as she watched him start to walk away.
"Yeah! We'll watch the sunset again!" he shouted over his shoulder.
"Bye!" Sakura yelled at his back and watched as he effortlessly leapt to the other building and disappeared from her sight.
Spreading her feet out from underneath her, she scanned the city as the street lamps started to flicker on.
He was a strange boy, but the city seemed a less lonely place knowing that he was in it.
Brushing herself off as she stood up, she found herself counting the hours until she got to see him again.