Kimi walked through the village in a daze. She had seen him again: that mysterious boy. Every night, she saw him sitting on the roof of his house, staring at nothing. Just sitting there. Again and again, she was struck by how lonely, how sad he looked. But whenever she asked someone about him, they just stared at her. "His name's Gaara," they said. "Gaara of the Sand." But that was it. That was all they would tell her. And time and time again, they would warn her away; "Don't go too near him, Kimi," they'd say. "Don't talk to him. He's dangerous." Despite their warnings, she was intrigued. She wanted to find out more about this mysterious 'Gaara'. Her mother always used to tell her, "Curiosity killed the cat, Kimi. Yours is going to be the death of you." And she was curious about Gaara of the Sand. So, despite the warnings of her friends, she decided she was going to talk to him. After all, what could really happen?

The next night, she sighted Gaara sitting on the roof of the cottage he and his siblings were staying in. Mustering up her courage, she deftly climbed up and sat on the edge, as far away from him as possible. He looked over at her, clearly startled, then looked forward again. You stared at him, annoyed; he was completely ignoring her! Sighing, she scooted over a few inches. He continued to stare into space. She moved over a bit more. Still, he did nothing. Starting to get frustrated, she moved over a bit more. Finally, in an emotionless tone, he said, "What do you want?" She started; honestly, she hadn't been expecting him to say anything. "Nothing," she replied happily. He just stared at her. After a little while of this, she started to get uncomfortable.
Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. "Why do you always sit up here alone?" she blurted. "You always look so...lonely." He looked at her, eyes flashing. "Weren't you warned away from talking to me?" He asked in that monotone voice. She stared right back, irritation building up inside of her. "Yeah, I was. So? Does that mean I can't talk to who I want to? Stop being all Mr. Self-Pity and acknowledge the fact that some people might actually want to be friends with you. Amazing, isn't it?" And with those last scathing words, she slid back down and walked home, not looking back. What she didn't see was Gaara staring at her proud, straight back, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The next few days marked a change in Gaara. No one really noticed, except for his siblings, who were the only ones who talked to him. And Kimi, of course. Whenever she used to see him around the village, he would have his head down, with that sad look on his face. Now wasn't much different, but now he would look people in the eye and, rather than that sad look, his face would look, not happy, but not so depressed and lonely. Kankuro and Temari were mystified. What could have happened? Only he knew. And Kimi.

Finally she decided to visit him again. Just like the first time, she saw him on his roof and clambered up. Unlike the first time, the moment she climbed up he turned his head and looked at her. She stared right back. This lasted for a little while, until she finally blushed and turned away. Gaara hesitated, then moved over a little towards her. She looked at him, surprised, then slowly put her hand on his. He just stared at her. Then, out of the blue, he blurted, "Why are you like this?" She looked back at him. "Like what?" He hesitated again, then said, "No one else will talk to me. They're all afraid. Why aren't you?" Kimi smiled. "I have no reason to be. You've never done anything to me. Why, should I be?" He looked at her, a small smile touching his lips. Quickly, impulsively, Kimi pulled him into a hug. He stiffened, but slowly relaxed and put his arms around her. She smiled as he whispered into her ear, "Thank you."