So, this idea has been floating around i my head for quite some time, but I wanted to flesh it out a little bit more before I'd post anything. But now that I am ready and have the rough structure of this story complete, I've gathered the courage to share it with you guys.

This story begins in Gaara's childhood, bless his innocent soul. But it's only this chapter that'll take place during that time, because I need to get the plot rolling and characters to interact with each other. After this, there will be a major timeskip, where we will move right to the Chunin Exams. So stay tuned, other beloved characters will make appearences in this fic too, as well as some Oc's. It starts somewhat canon-ish, but as new characters will be introduced, we'll eventually drift off into AU territory, though that will still take some time! If you want any additional inforamtion about my character, their background or certain decisions/actions in the story, just PM me, and I'll get more elaborate (if it doesn't spoil the story).

I'd really love your opinions on this, so I'd be more than happy about any sort of critique. Gaara is an intruiging character in my opinion, but also so hard to write. Like, I'll-change-the-chapter-ten-times-a-day-because-it-just-isn't-right-hard. So any feedback concerning his portrayal is really appreciated; And for the story overall, to be honest. So thank you very much for clicking on this fic and for showing interest, it means a lot to me!

Enjoy!

Insouciant

Showing a casual lack of concern

Gaara knew something was up when his father had remained longer with him on the training compound than necessary. His father had been more stern and harsh than usual, a feat the young boy had thought impossible.

The Lord Kazekge had pierced Gaara with his cold, unwavering glare, arms crossed in front of his chest, standing as proud as always like a tower right in front of him, his shadow falling over the small boy. It had intimidated Gaara, though he had not dared showing it; His father did not like it when Gaara showed such uncontrolled emotions; A weakness he was not allow to possess.

"Gaara, our training will be interrupted for the upcoming week, there is important business I will have to attend to" he had spoken. "You will be supervised by your uncle for the time being. Under no circumstances are you allowed to leave the room."

Gaara had been puzzled. He had done nothing wrong during the last weeks, and the connection between some business and him had made no sense to him. Why should he hide if he wasn't even involved with any of his father's duties as Kazekage? Why now, when it had never bothered his father before? It had caused a strange ache in his chest, which had only added to his growing confusion back then.

"But why? I don't understa-"

"It is my final decision." he had interrupted him, not quite angry, but agitated.

Gaara had wanted to argue then, or to at least comprehend why he would be confined alone in his room for such a long time, but the look his father had given him gave no such option.

"Do you object my orders, Gaara?" he had inquired, sounding almost threatening to the small boy.

"No, father, I won't." he had replied.

That had been the end of the conversation, and his father had left without another word. He was a good son after all. An obedient one. Yet, the ache in his chest grew stronger, almost unbearably so.

And now Gaara sat in his room, all by himself, his uncle Yashamaru not in sight. It was unbearably boring here, with little to do and only the ominous whistles of wind hushing outside his window, filling the otherwise silent room with soft noise. He preferred silence though when he was alone, because the other option was much more terrifying and intimidating; The racoon dog scared him, always trying to convince him to do bad things. Yashamaru had told him to not listen to it whenever it should speak, but that was a hard feat to achieve when there was nothing else to focus on.

But as it tended to raise it's voice when Gaara was alone and with nothing to do, he searched the room with his huge green eyes for a distraction. Anything would do.

His gaze found the round window above his bed. It gave him a view of the courtyard in front of the Kazekage building. The courtyard was always filled with life, people going in and out of the building, speeches being given there, groups finding together or simply people spending their free time on the harmonic compound. He liked watching the people there going on with their usual business, although he sometimes deeply wished he could join them somehow. But they always left when he approached, fear in their eyes and mean words springing from their lips. Sometimes, they'd even throw rocks at him. He didn't know what he had done to them or what exactly caused them to fear him so, but that did not stop him from trying nonetheless.

Surprisingly, the courtyard was almost completely devoid of life today. It looked bigger than usual, - probably because there were so few people there – and it looked...clean. Tidied up. And if he looked closer, he could see subtle decorations adorning the the whole place. Only a few Suna-nins stood in unified attire as some sort of guard. It looked as if they were expecting something, or rather someone.

He pressed himself closer to the window, trying all sorts of angles to take as much in of the scenery as possible, looking for more clues that could tell the hidden story behind all this. But there wasn't much else to see, no hints or clues that could tell him the whole tale.

Without the thriving on the courtyard, staring out of the window quickly lost it's appeal, all the excitement gone with the people.

But just as was about to cast his gaze away to find another diversion, something moved. The shinobis in the yard suddenly straightened their already tense position, and small noises of something moving over the dry sand floor of Sunagakure rang through to his ears.

And indeed, a whole group entered the compound, looking strange and foreign to Gaara's eyes. A dozen people, all in colorful, silky robes that seemed inconvenient to wear in a place such as Sunagakure. The robes these strangers wore offered no protection from the sun and were too tight, probably making the wearer feel even hotter than the usual desert sun already did. Some of them were wearing armor and weapons, but they wore no headband that would have given away their allegiance. While these armed strangers had grim and stern expressions on their faces, the other persons with a straight posture and coordinated motions looked more impassive than anything.

What drew in his attention though was the heavily embellished palanquin that entered the scene. When it was softly set to the ground, some of the strangers rushed to the palanquin's doors, opening them in fluid and practiced motions, as if they had done it a million times before. Out stepped a man with dark brownish skin and dark blue hair, dressed in a formal kimono with emblems on either side of his chest and his arms. His facial expression was placid too, just like all these other strangers, but the happy glint in his golden eyes gave his true nature away.

But the person Gaara had almost overlooked was stepping out right behind the kind-looking man. A girl, with slightly lighter skin than the man before her, but with the same amber eyes and blue hair. She looked a little bit stiff in the kimono she was wearing, but none of it showed on her face, as she, like everyone else tried her best to sport a completely aloof expression.

These two must have been related, the resemblance undeniable. And from the way they carried themselves, it reminded him of the tales of lords and ladies, of daimyo's and royalty that Yashamaru sometimes told stories about when Gaara would get too bored during some nights. They must have been of noble descent, he was sure of it. Royalty from a faraway exotic country.

A thousand questions sprang to his mind as he watched the foreigners approach the building, a spark of curiosity searing through him. It was captivating, watching these exotic people in their organized march; They seemed...brighter. Even though their faces gave no emotion away, there wasn't the typical broodiness that accompanied most shinobis. Gaara wished he could run downstairs and outside to meet the strangers in person. A thousand questions shot through his mind that he wanted to ask them. Who were these people? What were they like? Did they fear him too?

But his quickly growing anticipation was shattered when his father's words came into mind again. He was not allowed to leave his room. He would not get an opportunity to ever meet them. All these different people down there, and he was left alone up here.

It was her second day in Sunagakure, having only arrived yesterday and still her sense of wonder had yet to lay low. It was her second time venturing beyond the familiar borders of her father's estate and their home village, and the first time she had ever left the Land of Fire at all.

Her mother had objected to the idea, saying that Inari was too young to travel such lengths, the path too dangerous. But her father had not shared her mother's worries.

It often was like that; Mother being all cautious and thinking of all the risks, her father acting as if the possibility of any harm befalling them being a ridiculous notion. Not that he was naive or an airhead, he did know of the dangers of this world, and he did know of the power he held and the ill intentions it brought with it. He just wasn't as aware of it as Inari's mother was.

And though her mother was probably right, Inari could not help herself but be happy that it was her father who had made the final decision.

Otherwise she maybe would have never seen the dangerous and harsh beauty of the desert lands of the Land of Wind, or all the countless villages and towns they had passed through. None of them could compete against Sunagakure though, or at least the small part of it that she had seen on her way to this building. She wanted to see this country, it's people who were so exotic and foreign to her young self.

It only made her current situation that much more unbearable. She wasn't allowed to leave the room she was currently residing in. While the Kazekage himself had reassured her father that they were perfectly safe in the Kazekage tower and could move freely within it, her father had ordered her to stay in the guest room provided for her. She was to stay there while he was dealing with some business with the Kazekage and his council.

At first she would have thought that she would gladly obey – the Kazekage was a scary man, with even scarier amounts of chakra and she did not know the people and shinobi running around this house. So, her room was the only safe option. But that option turned out to be immeasurably boring, with little else to do.

Inari wanted to leave the room, no matter what her father had told her to do. This was terrible, and there was no one to play games with; Not even the Kazekage's children, whom she had been introduced to last evening, as they were already old enough to go to the Shinobi Academy.

The biggest obstacle in her intentions to leave her room though was the guard stationed at her door. But she had already devised a masterplan to outmaneuver Kanoe-san and flee these already familiar four walls. The only thing left to do was gathering enough courage to see her plan through.

She walked to the door leading to the corridor outside, grabbing the door knob tightly.

"Kanoe-san. Could you please come in for a moment?" Inari asked, hoping that no ill intention could be heard through her voice.

"At once, Inari-sama!" she heard his voice, dampened by the barrier still between them.

She listened closely to her guard's movements, and turned the door knob, opening the door before Kanoe could grab it. He was was about to walk through the small space she had created for him, positioning himself directly between the door and the door frame.

That was when she acted, as quick as a fox. She opened the door wide – visibly surprising Kanoe – only to slam it right back closed, hitting him full force and shortly trapping him between door and frame. But she knew that that wouldn't knock him out, she wasn't even remotely strong enough to do anything of that sort. So she swung open the door again, rushing through the open space, past a stunned Kanoe and grabbing the door knob again. Kanoe though, slightly huffing in pain, was quickly regaining his composure. Inari's window for attack was closing fast. She needed to act now.

With his back still facing towards the corridor – and therefore, also her – she could kick him into her room with some effort. Not much though, only enough for her to fully close the door again. When it clicked into the lock, she wasted no time listening to the angry rant already escaping Kanoe's mouth, instead bolting off to her right.

She needed to be out of sight before he could leave the room again, that would give her the highest chance to actually escape her guard entirely. She tried to run as silently as possible without losing too much momentum and did not dare look back. She could already hear the door being ripped open and foot steps behind her. But she did not give up yet. She turned two corners, ran up three stairs and bolted down a corridor. She did not meet many people along her way, and none of them tried to stop her, looking a little bit dumbfounded after her running figure. But that meant she had people who could tell Kanoe where she had run off to.

That wasn't good. Needing to hide for a while, she turned another three corners and was met by another corridor with multiple doors to her left and right. She picked the last to her right, opened it wide and burst into the room hiding behind it, before closing it again, leaning against it for support. That had been quite tiresome, especially in that stupid kimono that just wasn't made for the hot and dry weather of Sunagakure. She could feel the sweat running down her forehead and arm pits, and worried for a moment that she would smell badly now, or worse, get sweat stains on her clothes. That was disgusting, unbecoming for a lady liker herself. She hadn't yet bothered to take a look around the room she had just invaded, her mind was occupied with other things right then.

"Who are you?" she suddenly heard a small voice pipe up before her.

She opened her eyes wide, trying to identify the speaker who sounded unsure, almost afraid. And true enough, Inari wasn't the only one inhabiting the room right at that moment. In front of her was a young boy, apparently around her age of five or six years, with red hair, green eyes and clothing that seemed so typical at a place like this, yet so exotic to her own eyes. He seemed to be distressed about her entering the room, and now that she was a little bit more aware of her surroundings, she also knew why: This looked like a bedroom. She had waltzed right into this kid's bedroom without even knocking first. That must have scared him witless, she surely would have been had the roles been reversed.

"What are you doing here?" the boy spoke again.

He still seemed somewhat panicked – or simply shy – though Inari did not think it was about herself, but more about the situation as a whole. Well, who wouldn't be somewhat scared when strangers just started crashing into your room without any warnings. Father had always warned her about evil people coming into her room without permission, trying to hurt her real badly. But she wasn't a kunoichi yet, and certainly not an evil one. But how was he supposed to know, she hadn't told him yet.

She had at least some explaining to do, and she certainly did not want to leave this hiding place so soon again. She could be seen and found out immediately!

"I'm not a kunoichi here to kill you!I ran away from my guard and needed to hide somewhere. Sorry for not knocking first, that was impolite of me!" she explained herself, bowing her head quickly in an apologetic gesture.

The boy did not seem too happy about her presence still. As if she was specifically here to harm him. Even after she'd told him she wouldn't. Did he not believe her?

"You still haven't told me who you are." he replied, keeping his distance.

Oh. Of course, you couldn't trust strangers! How stupid of her. How rude of her! Her tutors would bash in their heads if they ever knew how quickly Inari had lost every rule of etiquette she had been taught by now. How would the boy not try to throw her out again if she was this exceptionally rude?! And a rude stranger on top of that.

"Of course! I am sorry again for my rudeness. My name is Ashoka Inari, daughter of Ashoka Suzaku. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I am also in need of a hiding place!" she quickly said, bowing once more to him, as she had been taught. Now he had to believe her, and let her stay here. He needed to protect her from the searching eyes of her guards. He had to.

For a short time, she didn't hear anything, the boy just avoiding eye contact and looking anywhere but her. It calmed Inari a little bit, as she wasn't the only one anymore in this room who was being rude. She took a step towards him, curious now about the stranger in front of her. It wasn't fair, he was still unknown to her, even after she had already made herself known to him. She eyed him closer, with a little bit more suspicion. He had fair skin, exceptionally fair, to be honest. Something that she had almost deemed impossible when living in the desert, until she had met the Kazekage's family. Maybe they didn't go out so much. Or maybe he was so fair that his skin actually reflected the sun light instead of giving him a tan.

"Won't you tell me your name as well?" she asked skeptically, not wanting to be left in the dark anymore about his identity.

He seemed a little bit surprised, and it took him a moment to answer, but nevertheless, he managed to squeak out the words:

"My name is Gaara."

After a short pause he hastily added:

"Also pleased to meet you. But you shouldn't be here. No one's allowed to come in here except the Kazekage himself and Yashamaru!"

Her eyes widened. He couldn't do that! Kanoe was still out there searching for her and no doubt fuming about the stunt she had pulled. It wasn't safe out there! He couldn't just throw her out again. She quickly closed the distance between them, which only added to the state of discomfort Gaara appeared to be in, for he hastily stepped back two steps. She tried to grab him by the shoulders.

"What? No! You need to let me stay in h-"

Suddenly sand whirled up and around the boy, effectively hindering Inari to even get too close to Gaara, nevermind touching him. A surprised cry left her throat as the rough grains pushed her hands back, knocking Inari on her ass, as she had not been expecting such a push-back.

She looked dumbfounded at the boy, and he just stared as dumbfounded back at her, processing this entire situation.

"I am so sorry-"

A searing pain shot through her palms, pulsating rhythmically in her hands. In horror she watched as her hands slowly turned red, redder than the hair growing on the boy's head. Fear crept up inside her. The blood was threatening to trickle down her fingers just like the tears in her eyes were about to run down her cheeks. How had he done that? Why did he hurt her like that? Had she just ran into an assassin's bedroom, secretly taking his work from him? Wide-eyed, she looked at the perpetrator. And she saw a terrified face, with eyes wide open and a mouth lightly agape. What was missing was the malice. He looked like he was bout to cry too. He wasn't, but he might as well.

She wouldn't cry, not in front of him. He had already proven to be stronger than her, she would not add to that by shedding tears. Whatever type of childish composure she had left, she would keep it together. She was a lady, a not very well-behaved one, but neither one who would bring any more shame to the family. And her mother had told her that she had the potential to become a capable kunoichi. They never showed pain or fe-

"Oh god, there's blood on my kimono! We'll get into so much trouble for this! It's going everywhere!" she cried out in alarm.

Frantically, she searched for something to make the bleeding go away, so it wouldn't smear any further on her. She tried clasping her hands together, but that just made it worse, not to mention the agonizing pain it brought her.

Before Inari had even realized what had happened, a brown, rough and over-sized cloth was thrown over her hands. Gaara had sprung into action. He tried pressing the cloth further into her hands, watching as the sandy-brown texture slowly blossomed into red. But Inari shied away, startled by the additional pain it brought her. Once again, he looked almost as shocked as she was. He had no right to be in shock, Inari thought. She was the one in pain, not him. Yet in all the absurdity, seeing the boy in alarm was what calmed her down again. The pain was still there, but the initial flaring in her palms had subsided a little bit as long as she held tightly onto the cloth.

"Don't stare like that. It's your fault after all." she hissed at him.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to do that." he piped out, not even defending himself against her mean accusation.

"You are a shinobi, of course you did. That's what you guys do, fight and stuff."

He looked guiltily at the ground. Only now did she notice where the over-sized, brown cloth had come from. Gaara wasn't wearing his odd poncho anymore. Somehow, he looked a lot smaller without it. Inari's eyes slightly softened. It was her who had interrupted a shinobi's play-time in his own room. And he hadn't killed her for it, bloody hands were a thousand times better that. It still wasn't nice what he had done to her, but she guessed it was similar to what her sister had done every time Inari had burst into her room without permission. But father always had made them apologize to each other afterwards. If she could begrudgingly say sorry to a sister who wasn't even sorry to throw a wooden doll after her, then this would be no problem.

"I'm sorry too. It wasn't right of me to crash into your room like that." she murmured, a sudden wave of embarrassment accompanying her words. That rarely happened with her sister.

She watched Gaara's face. He looked puzzled. Not the reaction she'd expected. Staring sheepishly at the ground, he avoided eye contact,. What sort of shinobi was he even? And she had been hurt by someone like him, a soft shinobi. Did he think he had to be so soft and gentle around her, because he thought she couldn't handle it? No way!

"But you just wait until I learn nin-jutsu too. Then your sand won't have shit one me." she quickly added, trying to sound though. It had also been the perfect opportunity to showcase the new sentence her brothers had taught her recently.

He looked surprised at her again. Cautiously, he asked:

"You are a shinobi too?"

Inari looked scandalized at him "Do I look like a boy?! I am a lady!"

She paused for a moment, caught in her own thoughts.

"But, yeah, I'm gonna be a kunoichi. Can you imagine how confusing it would be if I'd return home as a boy though?" she contemplated, almost giggling by the end of it.

Gaara couldn't laugh with her, too confused to follow her trail of thought it seemed. The look on his face told her everything, he thought her to be weird. But so was he, so they were even, she guessed.

"Who taught you your technique anyway? Was it your parents?" she instead asked, not dwelling on her short afterthought.

Gaara obviously had no clue what he had to do in such a situation, as if he had never been with other people before. For Inari, the long pause and his facial expression of slight distress was speaking for itself.

"No- I mean yes. Uh-" he stuttered, his head turning redder than his hair.

"It can't be both, obviously!" Inari deadpanned.

If he didn't want to tell her, that was fine too! Actually, no, it wasn't. Inari wanted to know. Maybe she could learn that jutsu too. Her mother had always praised her talent and interest in the arts of the shinobi.

"I could always do it. But my father taught me how to control it." he finally answered, reluctantly.

So that meant Inari couldn't learn it. That was so unfair! A spike of jealousy ran through her body. Why could he do ninjutsu from the very beginning and all she could do from the beginning was being absentminded? What kind of god would let such an injustice happen?

"I'm sorry." he said, not sure what he was even apologizing about.

Gaara, noticing the sudden sulky mood Inari had gone into, appeared to start to loosing all faith in this situation. If he continued to be the way he was, he would scare Inari away entirely. She was the first non-family member to openly approach him. And she was one of the strangers he had wanted to know so much about! But he didn't know what to do. Her mood was changing so quickly, he had trouble keeping up with it. She was staying longer than the other kids, but her presence was also overwhelming, not giving him enough time to adjust. But still, the feeling sprouting in his chest, as confusing as it was, was pleasant, to say the least. He liked this, he just had to figure out why. Later maybe.

"What? No! Don't apologize! Don't apologize for my lack of talent." she shot back immediately, almost outraged by his apology.

Gaara had no clue about anything right now. What was even happening? That had not been what he meant. This was a misunderstanding. He did not think her untalented or weak. He had just not wanted to hurt her any further. But he had done so anyway, apparently. Yet again. What was he supposed to do? How did he not hurt her?

He wanted to get out of this situation. Not away from her, no, he was enjoying her presence. He just wanted to understand, so that this meeting could go better. So that he could be more comfortable. Because he wanted to get more comfortable around her. She was nice; Putting him in a state of distress, but still nice. Even when half of the time she was somewhat nasty to him, she still had a friendly energy to her. After all, she was still here, with him. That amounted to a lot already.

"Can you do anything else with your sand? I don't know, build a sand man, grab something, make it fly? Oh, can you do quicksand? Can you like, make a swimming pool, but instead of water, you have sand?" she got closer again, getting riled up as her imagination was running wild with her.

A surge of pride shot through Gaara, but was accompanied by a huge wave of shyness. This was the first time someone had ever been amazed by what he did with his sand. And she wanted to know more about it. But would she run away like the other children when she saw what he could actually do with it? Gaara did not know. He glanced at her hands. They were still tightly wrapped in his poncho, the cloth now almost entirely crimson. Even though it forced her to hold her hands together the entire time, she apparently had already forgotten about the accident. She had stayed, even after he'd hurt her.

"I- I could show you, if yo-"

"Yes!" she interrupted, looking as excited as ever.

Now she didn't mind being rude. Gaara would be showing her some more ninjutsu, and probably be the coolest kid she had ever known after that.

Inari watched in silent, but obvious excitement as Gaara rose his small arm and a cloud of sand was following his movement upwards. Her golden eyes followed the mass of sand as it flew- yes, it flew, how awesome was that for her five year old mind?! - to the nearby shelf and grabbed a teddy bear from the top of it. It came back in a fluid motion, engulfed in the sand cloud, before being dropped right in front of her.

"This. Is. So. Awesome! You are awesome! Everything is awesome!" she almost couldn't contain herself in her joy. She threw her wrapped hands in the air out of excitement, almost losing balance by doing so. She had forgotten that her movement was limited, with her hands tied together like that. It didn't matter though. She was having a great time.

The moment was only made better by the huge, if still somewhat shy and reluctant smile that had spread on Gaara's face. Inari liked him better when he smiled, especially if it was as genuine as it was now. It was awkward if the one she was playing with wasn't having any fun.

They spent some time like that, with Inari asking him to do something with his sand, and him trying to fulfill her request. It was funny and amazing at the same time for Inari, and Gaara seemed to enjoy himself too, as he sometimes would laugh and smile with her. But she still caught him looking worriedly at his ruined piece of clothing from time to time. She rolled her eyes at that, it was ruining the fun they were having. She wasn't a baby, she could take care of herself. Most of the time.

"What is it?" she asked pointedly.

"What will you do about your injuries?"

"Dunno. Tis just a scratch anyway. No need to fuss about it."

"But I hurt you." he insisted "You need to tell someone, so they can give you medicine for the wounds."

Inari narrowed her eyes at him. What was he on about did not suit her at all. She came close to his face, dangerously close, glaring holes into his face. Gaara almost seemed scared, and she could hear his sand rustling anxiously around him. She wouldn't do the same mistake twice; She liked her face without having a wall of sand in it very much, thank you.

"If you think we are going to get into trouble for this, then you are dead wrong." she stated in her most earnest voice a five-year old could manage.

"We?" Gaara replied, slightly confused again.

Why would she get into trouble over him hurting her? Why would she even care. All he wanted to say was that he wanted her body to heal as quick as possible. No one said anything about trouble!

"Well, no. Actually just me, as long as I don't tell Kanoe or my father that you were involved." she said, her mood changing yet again into a pensive one.

"That's not what I meant." he tried to clear up.

"Well, but it will be trouble for the both of us if I run off to get help with this" she raised her arms a little bit.

"And since it's just a scratch, I won't need any help anyway. So your question is stupid." she finished, seemingly proud of her argumentation.

"Why would you do that for me?" Gaara asked, even more confused now.

No one except Yashamaru and the sand itself had ever even considered protecting him. Why she? She didn't really know him.

"Because that would be like ratting on you. And my brothers told me that ratting on someone is a no-go. I shouldn't do that, so I won't. Don't tell me you didn't know that?!" Inari exclaimed, confident in her words.

Gaara just shook his head. No, he had not known about that, but it made sense in his head.

"Well, now you do. You are so weird! But don't worry, you are still nice, so I still like you, Gaara." she voiced, probably in a horrid attempt to compliment him.

Gaara was at a loss for words. Not only did she like him, but she liked him although he was weird. He did not know how to react to that.

"I-I like you too, Inari." he only managed to re-use her words.

"Ew, don't say it like that. Now it sounds like we are a couple or something!" she squeaked out, somehow disgusted at that thought.

"A couple?" Gaara asked dumbfounded.

How had she gone from 'I like you' to 'couple' as in married or something. That's not how people married. He didn't want to marry her anyway! Had his words sounded like he wanted to marry her? He didn't have a clue, he didn't know how to marry someone? Had he accidentally proposed marriage to her instead of friendship?

"Yeah, but don't worry, we're not one. You need to kiss for that! At least, that's what my parents do, and they are married. Though not really in public. Something about not losing face or similar." she revealed to him.

He listened intently with big eyes. He was learning so much from her today. But one question remained in his head. He first didn't have the confidence to ask her, but now that she had said that they liked each other and they were not married, he had to.

"But, you are my friend, right?"

He couldn't hold eye-contact with her after that. The possibility of her saying no would be too painful to watch.

Inari was a little bit taken aback by his question. They had known each other only for a short while and mother had told her that friendship could only develop over time. And friends didn't blow off hands like that. But it had been an accident, she assumed. And she had made lots of new friends in the other villages as well, and she had not played that much longer with them either at that time. And none of them could make such cool tricks he could do. She did like Gaara enough, even a little bit better than some of her other newly acquired friends. Not as much as her friends at home, but still. Well, by that logic...

Suddenly, the door was opened again, and a new presence filled the room.

"What are you doing here?!" a new voice asked, somewhat surprised as well as shocked.

Inari turned around, alarmed, only to be faced with a grown man with violet eyes and blond, chin-length hair.

"Uh, playing?" Inari replied sheepishly, at a loss for anything else to say.

She had been caught in the act, with Gaara. Oh, but that would mean that she had totally dragged him into her shenanigans. She didn't want him to face scolding too, or worse, punishment. Well, actually it would be nice to not be the only one getting scolded. But that would be like ratting him out, and she did not want to do that! He'd probably also dump a bucket of cold water over her like her brothers had done when she had been a rat to them. Back when she did not know what ratting someone out had been.

Who was this man even? Was he a guard? Was he a shinobi? Or was he just some random dude crashing into rooms like she had done to question those inside these rooms without any higher purpose?

Actually, the last option wasn't so bad. The only bad thing about her last possible theory was that it also was the least likely to be true. Which meant that she was in deep trouble now.

"Yashamaru!" Gaara suddenly cried out, surprised.

So they knew each other and Gaara wasn't sobbing or shaking on the floor. Inari didn't know if Gaara actually did such things, but in her head every shy, but kind child her age did that. Some boys and girls in her home village at least did that sometimes.

So maybe Yashamaru was a nice man and they wouldn't get into trouble at all?

"What have you done to her, Gaara?" he exclaimed, rushing to Inari all of a sudden.

"He did nothi-" she tried to defend the boy who hadn't said a lot by now, seemingly incapable of forming a plausible and appropriate sentence.

This Yashamaru only grabbed her arms, revealing to him the hands wrapped in red.

"You need to get that treated, Ashoka-sama. Please let me take you to the infirmary." he pretended to ask, but was already pulling her along with him outside the door.

"What? No, I'm fine. This goes away from itself! A kunoichi doesn't know pain!" she tried to weasel her way out of the situation.

She would get into so much trouble when her father found out. And Gaara too, because she had ratted him out with her very presence. Oh my god, she was awful, her brothers would surely agree. She could already feel the shiver of that ice cold water being dumped on her again! She turned her head over her shoulder to take one last look at him. His hand was raised, as if to pull her back to him and he looked positively afraid and concerned. Either about her or about what was to come now.

"Wait, Yashamaru. It doesn't-" he tried to explain, but Inari could already hear from his tone that this wasn't going to work out.

"No, Gaara. You stay right here. We will talk about this later! First, the Kazekage and Lord Ashoka must be informed about this." Yashamaru said with an iron tone.

Gaara could only watch helplessly as Inari was dragged out of his room by Yashamaru, seemingly anxious about the fact that her father and his father would find out about their meeting. Only one last time did she turn her head and said:

"Soooorry, I didn't want to rat on you. Please don't throw water over me while I'm sleeping. But I'll still come visit you again tomorrow."

"Why would I do th-"

And then the door closed, and she was gone. She hadn't even answered his question. And why did she think he would waste precious water by simply throwing it at her? She surely would answer these glaring questions tomorrow, when she'd come back to him.

Yet, she didn't turn up the next day. His father did though, to give him a massive scolding and a punishment too, for hurting the daughter of such an important man, for hurting their guests. Something about ruining her future. He did not fully comprehend that part, but he knew he had not wanted it to end like that. And Yashamaru came too, giving him another scolding, but also listening to Gaara's story about his time with her. But Inari did not show up, not even the day after that. And something told him deep inside that she wouldn't come see him ever again.

And every time that thought returned to his head, an unbearable ache in his chest started to blossom where the warm feeling had shortly been.

Thank you for your time and reading this chapter!