I know I shouldn't write another GaaraxOC without finishing my other ones but this concept popped into my head and I just hand to write it. Just a little few chapters of fluff. :)

The feeling of water slipping through your fingertips is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. Soft and warm and gentle as it glides against your skin; it makes you feel peaceful and at ease. Rani adored that feeling, it made her smile and in this unfamiliar forest, surrounded by unfamiliar objects, to feel something she knew so well, was comforting. She washed her hands in the water of the stream and her smile faded as she heard footsteps of someone approaching. She turned her head in direction of the sound and stood up.

Gaara looked through the leaves and low branches of trees and could see someone stood on the bank of a stream. As he approached he could see it was a girl; she stood in a dark cloak, staring straight at him. She tilted her head as he approached but still said nothing and Gaara found it strange the way she simply stared at him. He could just about make out the dark hair and grey eyes as he approached. He didn't have time for talks with strangers and so continued on his way. He walked on the opposite side of the stream and went straight past her before she called out.

"Hello?" She called and he turned around, "please, I'm unfamiliar with this place; will you take me to the next town?" Gaara stared at her and wondered why she was not looking at him but still staring directly opposite herself.

"No." He said simply and pulled up the hood of his cloak, as he did this, she turned to him.

"I can tell by the sound of your voice you are not the kind of boy who likes to be disturbed." She replied and Gaara scoffed; had she never heard of Gaara of the Desert? He had a reputation around this country as the cold-blooded killer, the demon child, the monster and yet she talked to him so casually. Was she not scared? "Please, I do not say much, or require anything other than a leading hand." She pleaded and put her hand out in his direction as though trying to reach him. "You seem very trustworthy; your voice is kind and gentle," Gaara raised an eyebrow; had this girl been brought up outside the country? "Please?" She asked again and there was a moment of silence in which Gaara looked her up and down. Her hair was dark like the night, long and straight. Wisps of black hair curled around her face in the breeze and her grey eyes looked straight to him. Against her snow-white skin she had blood red lips that made Gaara's hair pale in comparison. "I will walk behind you." She added when he said nothing. The young Shinobi frowned; he had not left Suna to be lumbered with some girl.

"I walk alone." He retorted and turned away.

"Sounds pretty lonely." She replied and Gaara took a deep, shuddering breath to stop himself getting angry.

"I like it that way." He snapped and she bit her lip.

"No one likes to be alone," she replied with a voice that sounded happier than she felt. Gaara felt a pain sear in his heart; he knew that emptiness she was referring to, his spirit hung in that place. "I should know," she whispered, "I've been alone for so long." Gaara, who never felt anything with respect to other people's feelings, had guilt sink itself into his stomach. Guilt was something he was not familiar with and so was curious as to why this girl made him feel this way. There was something about her, something he'd met before but he didn't know what it was. She aroused his curiosity and it came with a thirst to know why she was such a riddle and where he had seen her before. He cocked his head back to her and nodded at her.

"I will take you to the next village." He whispered and her deep-red lips curved to a smile.

"Thank you, thank you so-"

"I thought you said you didn't talk much?" He asked sarcastically and her smile faded.

"Sorry," she murmured and held out her hand. Gaara looked at it; she wasn't offering anything, there was no reward in her palm.

"What's that for?" He asked from across the stream.

"I said I need a guiding hand." She reminded him and Gaara thought quickly; he hadn't thought she meant it literally. "You are a man of your word; I can feel how strong your character is." She called to him and Gaara turned to her fully. Suddenly the understanding of why she had not looked to him when he walked past, why she did not recognize him, why she could "feel" things about him and why she needed his hand, came to him. She was blind. "Give me your name," she asked of him and Gaara had a sudden plan form in his head.

"Gensei Taro," he said simply, "you?"

"Jushyo Rani," she said with a small smile. Gaara's brow furrowed…Jushyo…he had heard of that family before. She pushed her hand out to him further. "Please, Taro?" She asked and Gaara obliged. He crossed the river via some stepping-stones and reached her. He could see her eyes dance and follow his sounds as he approached her. He stood and stared at her for a while; he'd never seen anyone so innocent, so lovely in all his life. Her skin was unblemished, her eyes were dark-rimmed and stood out against those lips. Her grey eyes found his face.

"You trust me, and yet you cannot see me?" He asked bluntly and she smiled before putting her hand in front of him.

"Please, take me." She said and it took a moment for Gaara to gather his courage and take her hand. As his skin found hers he jumped slightly; no one had ever, in all his life, taken his hand. It was a wonderful comfort he had never experienced. He turned away from her and began to walk, he felt her weight as she took her first few steps. Eventually the awkwardness of her following faded away and the two of them stepped at the same time.

"You said you were alone," Gaara said over his shoulder and Rani raised an eyebrow; clearly this boy did not understand boundaries. She did not know that Gaara, a reserved and quite soul, found it difficult to talk to people seeing as every person he'd ever known had pushed him away. "Why?"

"I did not do it out of choice." She answered and bowed her head, "my family were murdered twelve years ago." Gaara stopped walking, his eyes widened and his mouth went dry. He turned to her quickly and looked to her face; a girl with fair skin, dark hair and those eyes. A vision of a younger version of her, screaming in the darkness over the corpses of her parents, came to mind and Gaara knew exactly where he had seen her before. He had been that murderer.

Reviews appreciated; tell me if I should continue! :)