Village Hidden in the Sand. Gaara is 12 years old and struggling with the loneliness brought on by the Shukaku. Meanwhile, a young girl named Sayuri Kibanaza watches his struggle with sympathy in her heart while she struggles with knowledge that her birth parents are dead.
A group of kids are playing ball, laughing and having fun. Gaara sits on the swing, watching, his teddy bear lying forgotten on the ground. "Kick it this way!" The ball is kicked towards a young boy, who tries to catch it but fails. The ball ricochets onto the top of the wall. "Oh no, how are we going to get that down?" "Does anyone know how to climb walls?"
Suddenly, the ball is lifted from the wall by sand, and lands in Gaara's hands. He offers the ball, but the other kids back away. "Stay away from us, freak!" one girl yells. "Run, it's that weird kid!" another shrieks. They turn and run, leaving Gaara standing there alone.
"No! Don't go! Please," Gaara calls. "I don't want to be lonely anymore."
A few of the kids trip suddenly. Looking down, they see sand wrapped around their ankles and start to panic. When they try to run again, Gaara gets mad. Squeezing his hand, he commands the sand to hold a girl's ankle tightly. He starts to drag her back towards him, but his aunt shows up and pulls the girl free. "Oh Gaara," she murmurs, pulling him close. I watch from the corner, unsure.
Nervous, I pick up the ball lying forgotten in the sand, and cautiously approach Gaara and his aunt. I was scared, but I knew that this was the right thing to do. "Ummm, ex-excuse me, would you like to play?" I mumbled hesitantly. I looked down at my feet, nervous. I had no idea how Gaara would react, but I couldn't just ignore him. It had been so hard for me to fit in when I was younger, I didn't like to see that happen to anyone else.
"Are-are you sure you want to play with me?" I heard a hopeful voice reply. Looking up, I saw Gaara almost smile, just for a second. "Yep!" I replied more confidently, smiling back. "Catch!" I kicked the ball towards Gaara, who chased after it, grinning. He caught up with it, and kicked it towards his aunt, who tapped it back to me. I kicked it to Gaara again, but it went wide. Before he could chase it, Gaara's sand went after the ball and knocked it back towards Gaara. Gaara ducked, and the ball hit his aunt square in the face.
There was a moment of shocked silence, and then we were all laughing. I snorted, and we all ended up on the ground, laughing like maniacs. We played a little longer, having lots of fun. Gaara found a rock smoothed by the sands, and gave it to me, smiling shyly. I took it, grinning, and hugged him. Poor Gaara didn't know how to react. All too soon, the sun began to set. "I'm sorry, I have to go home. Want to catch up again tomorrow?" I asked hopefully. "Sure," Gaara said, shy again. "Great," I replied awkwardly." See you tomorrow!" I called over my shoulder as I raced home.
Mother was waiting at the doorway, looking worried. "There you are sweetie," she sighed, looking relieved. "Come inside quickly, the mosquitoes are out in force tonight." I raced upstairs to wash up, and placed the stone in my little box of treasures. Smiling at it, I felt great. I'd made a new friend and had loads of fun.
At dinner, Father asked how my day had been. "Oh, I had so much fun!" I replied enthusiastically. "I made a new friend, and we played ball with his aunt all afternoon. The ball hit her in the face, and we couldn't stop laughing for ages. It was so much fun!" Mother smiled, delighted that I'd made a friend. "That sounds great honey. Who is this new friend of yours?" she asked curiously. "Oh, Gaara," I replied casually, and then tucked into the rest of my ramen.
Mother started choking, and Father quickly jumped up to help her. Brother just looked at me like I'd turned into an oni. "What?" I asked innocently, worried by my family's reaction. "You can never see him again," Father growled. "But why?" I asked, shocked. "You're always telling me to make friends. Now I have, and I'm not allowed to see him again? Why?"
Father turned red. "Because he's dangerous!" he yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "Because of the sand?" I asked. "He doesn't mean to hurt anyone! He's just lonely. I even got him to smile today, I can't turn my back on him now!"
"You are never to see him again!" Father shouted, as if that settled the matter. Upset, I stormed upstairs to my room and fell on my bed, crying. After a while I calmed down. Sitting up, I opened my little box of treasures and picked up the stone Gaara had given me. It shone silver in the moonlight, so bright and beautiful. "I'm not giving up on him," I murmured. Crawling back into bed, I fell asleep with the stone on the pillow beside me.
AN- So, hi everyone! I've decided to rewrite the chapters in this story, they needed some filling in. They still won't be fantastic, but they'll be better than before :P This won't be an instant fix however, it will take some time. So please be patient, and as always, please review XD
P.S- I know chapter 8 was replaced by an earlier chapter, and I've fixed it! It's probably nothing like the original, I've been having some trouble finding my notebooks after moving. I hope they weren't thrown out! But, at least it's been fixed! And maybe helps with the character development of Sasuke a little. Sorry it wasn't fixed sooner!