A butterfly was fluttering in the air. Its delicate wings pushed against the wind. It was made up of odd colors. It was a mix of lavender, pink, and gold that sparkled in the sunlight. The other butterflies flew away from it as it landed on a flower near them. It was so different and unusual. The other butterflies were afraid of it.
Gaara sympathized with the lonely butterfly. He was, after all, a jinjuriki. Everyone was afraid of him because of the demon that lived inside him. Even his siblings showed signs of their fear.
His sand gathered together to from a sand butterfly. It flew to keep the strange butterfly company. The little, red-headed boy liked the butterfly. He decided that he would keep it as a pet.
Before he could trap the butterfly in sand, someone called him. He turned around to find his older sister, Temari.
"What are you doing here alone? You know you're not allowed outside alone while we visit the leaf village!" She wore an angry expression on her face. "Come on!" She reached for his hand but the sand stopped her. Temari gasped and pulled away.
"I don't want to go, yet. Please?"
She smirked and ran away. It was best not to anger him.
Gaara turned back to the butterfly, but when he turned around, it was gone. His frown deepened. The butterfly that he had made with sand fell and made a pile on the ground. Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Visiting sand shinobi glared at him as he wailed.
"Hey, kid. Why you crying?"
Gaara looked behind him to find a kid around his age. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He stared at him not wanting to say anything. Why was this kid talking to him? That is when he remembered he was in the leaf village. Most people, especially a kid, would not know what was inside him.
"Can you talk?"
Gaara nodded, wiping his tear-streaked face. He looked back at the place where he last saw the unusual butterfly. "The butterfly flew away."
The blonde kid tilted his head to the side. "Butterfly?" His mind clicked when he remembered seeing a butterfly with strange wings earlier that day. "Was it purple, pink and yellow?"
He nodded.
The kid smiled. "Oh! Hold on! I'll get it for you! That's a promise!" With that, he ran off.
Gaara was confused. The kid was an odd one. There was no way he could find and catch such a little creature with his bare hands.
Figuring he would not see the kid again, Gaara turned and left.
He thought about the mysterious kid all day. There was something about him that made him hope that he would keep his promise.
It was sunset when he walked aimlessly around the leaf village. He caught sight of some bullies crowding around a poor, defenseless kid. He recognized immediately that it was the kid from earlier.
"Torturing innocent creatures, eh, Naruto?"
"Let it go! What did the butterfly ever do to you?"
They were kicking and punching him but he did not fight back.
"Leave him alone!" Gaara screeched.
The men turned around to look at him.
"Leave us alone, kid."
"Wait. Isn't that the sand village's jinjuriki?"
His eyes widened. "No way."
The other guy nodded. "I heard rumors that he can kill someone by smothering them with sand."
"Let's get out of here!" They ran off leaving Naruto alone.
He was rolled up into a ball. He looked like he was holding something between his hands.
"Are you okay?" Gaara asked walking up to him.
Naruto lifted his head up. The blue of his eyes sparkled when he saw him. "Oh hey, it's you! I kept my promise." He opened his hands a little to let him peek inside.
Gaara lowered his head and looked at what he was holding. His eyes widened as he saw the butterfly from earlier. Its wings delicately fluttered in the little cramped space.
"Here you go!" Naruto handed the creature to him. "By the way, the name's Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"
Gaara smiled at him. No one has ever shown him this much kindness in his life. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.
His lips slowly rose into a smile.
"Hi. I am Gaara."