A/N: Hey guys! This will be my second story on here and it will also be a multi-chap. I know I should probably be updating Her Secret but this was just sitting there in my writing pad, all written up and waiting to be typed! It was calling out to me! Also, I probably won't be updating this story in a while because I'll be focused on Her Secret but I'll be sure to lavish this story with more attention once I'm done with my other one.

Anyway, my inspiration for this story came from the week I was obsessed a song called Sleepsong by the band Secret Garden. It's a beautiful song in my opinion and I encourage you all to listen to it ^_^.

I hope you like this one ^o^. Reviews are appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto world.

Loo-li lai-lay

Gaara couldn't really say that he loved music, seeing as love in general was still a somewhat foreign concept to him. He had been deprived of the emotion for twelve of his seventeen years of life. But as the young Kazekage sat in the living room of the home he shared with his siblings, slowly perusing through some scrolls and documents he had brought with him from his office, he could definitely say he appreciated it. Listening to Temari's breathy alto echoing from the upstairs bathroom and Kankuro's off-key humming from across the room as he worked on Karasu, left Gaara feeling content and...almost happy.

Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby

Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay

Gaara's appreciation for music surprisingly started when he was merely five years old. Back when he still didn't understand why everyone in the village threw him hateful glares and petrified glances. Back when that little voice in his head, whom he now knew had been Shukaku, had just started to whisper madness into his innocent mind.

At that age, Gaara knew of the concept of music but he had never actually heard it. Yashamaru had never sung to him and no music filled his house; only empty silence and the occasional hushed whispers or commanding voice of his father, the Fourth Kazekage.

It wasn't until one especially arid night did Gaara hear his first real song. On this particular night, he found himself walking through the empty streets of Suna which had become an increasingly frequent pastime of his. His only companions were his ever present teddy bear and the moon. But it was alright, he enjoyed their company.

They didn't hate him.

Sadness crept into Gaara's eyes as he continued down the street, consumed by his thoughts. A deep, aching sadness that he only let out in the solace of the night from fear of retribution from his father who would deem it as weakness. And weakness was not allowed from the children of the Kazekage who ruled over his own village with an iron fist.

So, it was in the safety of the darkness that Gaara allowed himself to be weak, to cry over the horrors and unfairness of his life, to let the emotions that built up inside him trickle out in slithering tendrils not unlike the sand that he commanded; the anger at being blamed for something he could not control, the resentment he felt towards his siblings for never coming to his aid, and the hurt he felt when the whispers of monster and demon drifted to his ears on the wind.

And this particular was no different. Before Gaara could stop himself, tears had begun to slowly run from his kohl-rimmed eyes down his cheeks. He vainly tried to stop the tears from coming by rapidly wiping his jade eyes with the back of his free hand but they would not cease. So, Gaara just settled for trying to stifle his sobbing. It would do him no good for a villager to rouse from their slumber and then scream bloody murder at the sight of him.

Once he had calmed his sobbing down to an occasional sniffle, Gaara realized he had stopped walking. But before he could will his little feet to start moving again, the sound of nearby balcony doors shifting open reached his ears. This both startled and frightened Gaara, causing his sand to come alive and act on its own. The little boy could do nothing but clench his eyes shut and hug his teddy tightly in hopes of drowning out the pained screams that would surely pierce the air.

Yet, there was only silence.

When Gaara opened his eyes again, he found himself on the roof of a building, the same building where the noise had come from.

Gaara was brought out of his momentary reverie by a sleepy albeit bell-like voice.

"H-hello? Is anyone out there?"

The pretty voice seemed to belong to a little girl about Gaara's age and it was coming from over the side of the roof. Feeling a surge of bravery and curiosity run through him, Gaara chanced a look over the edge of the roof only to rapidly pull himself back when the small figure he assumed to be the owner of the voice moved. So much for bravery...

Gaara hadn't been able to see anything of significance apart from a quick flash of pale pink. Maybe it was the girl's nightclothes. He didn't have long to ponder over it though because another voice joined the first. It was an older voice, still female and just as soft and tinkling as the younger one.

"Kura-chan?" The voice began softly "What are you doing out here? It's late, you should be in bed."

'What kind of name is Kura?' Gaara thought. But who was he to judge, with his name being what it was.

"I thought I heard a little boy crying, Kaa-chan. But I can't see anyone out here."

"Well, maybe he's hiding." Gaara's eyes widened at this. Could this girl's mother sense him? If she could, why wasn't she doing anything about it, like any other villager would have? Strangely, Gaara wanted to know more about this little girl and her mother so he resolved to keep listening.

"Are you sure you heard a little boy Kura-chan?"

"Of course, Kaa-chan! It couldn't be a girl because I've seen Ami-san cry and she's always so loud about it but I saw Chouji-kun cry when someone took his last potato chip and it was like he was trying to hide it! And this person sounded like Chouji-kun. It was so quiet I almost didn't hear it. Why do you think he was crying?"

"Maybe he was sad. But he's obviously not here now so we should go back to sleep. We leave early in the morning."

"Iie, Kaa-chan! We can't leave now! We have to cheer him up! If he's hiding, then maybe he's still here, listening to us now!"

Gaara was surprised. This little girl didn't even know him, had never seen him and yet she sounded as if she really cared.

"Kura-chan, I'm sure-"

"Please Kaa-chan!"

"Alright...But we can only stay out here for ten more minutes and then we go back inside. Now what do you think we should do?"

It was silent for a few moments, moments in which Gaara stayed as silent as he could from his spot on the roof. He wanted to know what the little girl with the tinkling voice would say.

"Could you sing that lullaby? The one...the one Tou-chan used to sing for me?"

"That sounds perfect Kura-chan." There was a strange melancholic tenderness in the voice of the little girl's mother as she said this.

Gaara listened even more closely now. He had never heard anyone sing before, nor did he think that the first time he did that it would be for him. Before the song began though, Gaara heard the little girl speak again, this time seemingly to him.

"Hi...I don't know who you are but I know you can hear me. I can feel you here, somehow. And I don't know why you're sad but I know I don't like being sad or seeing other people sad, so my Kaa-chan is going to sing a song that always cheers me up. I hope you like it too."

And with that, Gaara was swept away by a soft, melodic voice that seemed to mesmerize him as the song began. Gaara didn't know how angels sounded like, but he was sure that if he ever did hear one they would sound exactly like this girl's mother. The song itself was calming and it filled him with a sense of hope the longer he listened to it. The more he let the sweet melody surround his being like a comforting blanket, the more Gaara felt as if angels were watching over him. He closed his eyes, in order to savor the beauty drifting through his ears.

All too soon, the beautiful voice died down and the song came to a close causing Gaara to open his eyes. If anyone had seen his eyes at that moment, they would have never thought to call the crimson-haired child a monster for his eyes only conveyed a calm, innocence that had not been present in him in a very long time.

As Gaara dazedly listened to the last vestiges of his first real song, he realized that he had to thank this little girl and her mom in some way. He remembered observing the villagers from his bedroom window one day and seeing Yashamaru give money to some entertainers on his way to the local market but Gaara had no money.

...All he had was his teddy bear.

But he had to give them something! He wanted to give her something. For, even though it was the mother who had sung, it was the daughter who sought to cheer him up. So, after giving his teddy a final squeeze and a silent goodbye, Gaara sent his teddy over the edge of the roof, right above where he recalled the balcony to be. The next sounds to ring through the night was a soft thud of his bear landing, and a soft gasp that he assumed came from "Kura-chan".

"Kaa-chan, look! He is here! And...I think he's thanking us!"

"It seems he is. Well, what do you say Kura-chan?"

"Thank youfor the bear. It's very adorable. And you're welcome for the song. I hope it helped. I just wish I had something else to- Oh, wait! Kaa-chan, come with me!"

Gaara soon heard the tell-tale shuffling of feet as the mother and daughter duo left the balcony and was strangely sad that his "interaction" with the kind people had come to an end, but Kura-chan's voice broke through the silence one more time.

"This teddy bear must have been really precious to you, so I wanted to give you something precious to me too. I asked Kaa-chan if it was alright and she said that as long as I felt that it was the right thing to do, then she was okay with it. I may not know what you look like or who you are but I feel that this is right. My tou-chan made this for me, but I have a feeling you need it more than I do. I'll just leave it here on the balcony for you. Good night...but not goodbye because I have a feeling that our paths will cross again one day."

Gaara waited a few more minutes, long after the balcony doors had closed and the night had quitened once again, before leaning over the edge to look at what Kura-chan had left him. As he willed his sand to bring the object over to him, he saw that it was a small wooden chest. It was just big enough to fit in both his hands, if not a little bigger. It was made of a polished, dark wood and had intricate carvings of leaves and vines of along the front and sides. The cover though, which was curved, had only one small carving in its center; a beautiful cherry blossom. Even more beautiful than the pictures of them he had seen in his uncle's books about plants.

Curiously, he opened the chest, only to have a familiar melody wash over him. After savoring, the wordless melody a bit longer, Gaara peered into the chest and found a small key with an intricate looking cherry blossom design, lying on top of a folded piece of paper. Leaving the key in the chest, he unfolded the paper and squinted to read the neat words that Kura-chan probably had her mother write for her.

To my new mystery friend,

I hope you like the music chest. It always helped cheer me up and calm me. I hope it helps you too. I'm sorry it doesn't come with words too, though. The key inside is to lock the chest so no one but you can open the box! Well, me too because the key has a twin, which I still have. That way I'll have something else to keep us connected! I promise to keep your teddy bear safe!

Your friend,

Kura-chan

P.S: I named him Cinnamon because thats what he smells like!

As Gaara read the letter, a small smile graced his countenance, lighting up his face in a way it never had before. When he fnished reading, only one thought ran through his young mind as he contentedly listened to the soft melody still emanating from the chest.

She called me friend.

And I'll sing you to sleep

And I'll sing you tomorrow

And yet, as the young Kazekage formed a mental image of his room in his mind and focused in on the small empty opening behind the hanging portrait of his mother, Gaara knew that something was still missing. He fingered the thin leather cord around his neck which kept a small intricate key tethered to him and pondered over the missing piece to his almost complete puzzle.

Bless you with love

For the road that you go