Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY CHARACTERS OF THE MANGA OR ANIME. Isn't that kinda obvious?

-o-

"Hikaru, go to the market and get these," my dad handed me a list of groceries. "Be careful, bad things happen at night. Especially to five year olds."

My name is Kojima Hikaru. My father and I just moved here, to Suna. He is a messenger, so we always have to move around a lot for convenience of his work.

Though it's not too convenient for me.

I never have time to make any good friends whenever we go somewhere. I've practically given up trying. I always felt alone. Especially with my dad being so distant.

I grabbed the list and walked out of the house towards the market. At least, it was our house for six weeks. After that, we were gone to the Kirigakure.

I hated it here. It was hot and sandy. I hated sand. It got all over your clothes and in your hair and socks. I couldn't wait to move to the Land of Water.

I bought my things and began my trek back home. I heard some kids yelling and looked up hopefully. Maybe I could meet some friends. Temporary friends.

There were four kids who were probably my age. One was on a swing and the rest were gathered around. They were the ones yelling. They were all throwing eggs at the boy on the swing. I started walking over there to defend him, but then something strange happened.

A wall of sand rose up between the boy and the other kids. Pieces of sand were shooting out towards the bullies, making them run away screaming. The wall of sand then fell to the ground.

I looked around for a ninja who had maybe performed a jutsu, but there was none. "This village is just too weird," I said under my breath.

Walking over to the boy, I saw him wipe egg yolk off his face with his hand. He didn't look up when I kneeled next to him. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out a cloth and held it out to him. He just stared at me, a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, are you gonna take it or not?" I urged.

He still sat there with the same dumb expression. What is wrong with the people here? I hope they're not all this crazy.

Sighing, I wiped the egg off his face with my cloth. He flinched away from me, but I didn't pull my hand away.

"What happened over there, with the sand?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his big green eyes searching mine.

Way to not answer my question, I thought. "I'm helping you. There, I think I got the last of it," I almost put the cloth back in my pocket, but then thought better of it. "My name's Hikaru, I just moved here," I said with a smile.

"Oh." He wasn't looking at me. I got the feeling he wanted me gone.

I grinded my teeth and pushed away my annoyance. This jerk was going to talk to me whether he wanted to or not. I could've just kept walking and pretended that nothing happened, but I wasted my time to help him.

"What's your name?"

He glanced at me for a second. "Gaara."

"Gaara? That's a weird name," I said.

I got no reply. This kid sure wasn't a talker.I grabbed my bag of groceries and stood up. "Well Gaara, maybe we can play together sometime soon." smiled at him before turning to walk away.

"Play?" he repeated after I had taken three steps.

I turned, still smiling. "Yeah. Like tag, or something."

He watched in bewilderment as I headed home.

-o-

"Here's your stuff," I said to my dad as I put the bag of groceries on the table.

He glanced up from his paperwork, having already set up his desk and office supplies. "Good. Go to your room." His pen wrote maliciously on the documents.

I hesitated by the stairs. There was something I had to ask him, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer to it. It would be the same as every other village.

"I noticed they have a ninja academy here. You know how badly I want to be a kuwoichi and-"

"Hikaru…" My dad had taken his glasses off and was holding the bridge of his nose. "Why do you always have to be such a pain?" He said this under his breath, not meaning for me to hear it.

Too bad. I still heard it. My eyes narrowed at him as I pushed down the lump in my throat.

His response to my question was usually a quick and harsh "no," but now there was a long silence. I began to shake in anticipation and prayed to anyone and anything that might be listening. Maybe he'd say yes. Maybe this was the one time that he-

"I'm not signing you up for the ninja academy. I haven't in other countries, and I won't in this one. And I also won't in any country we go to in the future. When will you get that through your head? I'm tired of your whining."

Once again, my dreams were crushed. I felt like crying, but I knew I couldn't do that in front of him. I'd be grounded for sure.

"Go to bed, Hikaru," my father put his glasses back on and pretended to be busy with his paperwork.

Quickly, I ran up the stairs and into my room. The tears I was holding back spilled over my cheeks and I cried myself to sleep.

-o-

It had been a couple days since we first moved here. I was bored out of my mind.

I was sitting on the swing from before, thinking about what it would be like to be a ninja. I would be strong. I would help people…

I felt eyes on me and, looking up, I saw Gaara. He was standing further off, staring at me. But that's not what surprised me. Sand was swirling around him like a spiral.

Realizing that I had caught him, Gaara's eyes widened in panic before falling shamefully to his feet, as did his sand. That's when I realized it. Gaara could control sand.

That's why I'd heard so many people call him Sabaku no Gaara. It didn't explain, though, why they also called him a monster.

He didn't look like a monster to me.

"Oh, sorry, am I in your seat?" I asked him, getting off the swing and holding on to the chain.

"Ummm…" he said, unsure. He was still staring at his feet.

Would I ever get a good response out of this kid?

"Do you wanna take turns swinging?" I asked.

He looked up in astonishment, his mouth forming an O-shape. I raised one eyebrow at him.

"Here." I motioned him over towards me, holding the swing out.

"Th-thanks, Hikaru," he said, taking the chain from me and sitting down. I was surprised he had remembered my name.

"Where are all your friends?" I asked, looking up at him.

A few moments of silence passed between us. I began to wonder if he heard me, but before I could ask again, he responded. "I don't have any friends." He was looking straight ahead, his face blank.

I thought back to the kids throwing eggs at him. Are they all like that to him?

"Yeah, I don't either." This caught his attention. He was looking at me now with those big eyes. It looked like he didn't get enough sleep. "It gets pretty lonely, doesn't it?" I said, giving him a half smile.

"Yeah, it does. Really lonely."

He looks so sad… I thought to myself. He seems even lonelier than I am.

"Well, let's make a deal, Gaara," I put myself in front of the swing and leaned over so our faces were at an equal height. "Let's you and I be friends!"

The idea of him being my friend just felt so… right. He seemed kinder than anyone else I'd met in other countries. I wanted to be in his life.

Gaara stared at me in astonishment before his face lit up. That was the first time I'd seen him smile. It was a great smile, too. I wanted to make him happy like this all the time.

We played together for the rest of the day and had a lot of fun. That spot by the swing became our meeting spot for almost everyday I was in Suna.

-o-

"It's so hot…" I complained.

Gaara and I were sitting on a bench in the market area. We had gotten a cold drink but the ice had already melted. Which totally sucked all of the joy out of my day.

People walking by kept their distance from us and whispered things to each other. They always acted like this when I was around Gaara. Sometimes I'd catch part of their whispers in the wind, wondering why I was spending time with the monster of the village. It's like we had a disease they didn't want to catch.

"Well, it is a desert," Gaara's reply pulled me from my thoughts.

I nudged him playfully with my elbow.

We sat enjoying each other's company in silence, until something startled me into sitting upright. It was the sweet smell of dumplings… and it was coming from a shop across the market.

"Mmmm… those smell soooo good!" I exclaimed. Gaara didn't take any notice to them, while I was sniffing like mad to memorize the delicious smell, eyes trained on the shop. "Does your mom ever make food like that?"

Gaara blinked. He looked dazed. "W-well… no. My mom's not alive anymore…"

I quickly forgot about the dumplings and focused all my attention on Gaara. "Oh, I'm sorry, Gaara. What was she like?" I said with a light smile.

"Oh, I don't know. I never met her."

"I'm sorry… What happened to her?" I fidgeted in my seat, these conversations made me uncomfortable. But my curiosity over ruled my discomfort.

Gaara hesitated before he continued. "She died while giving birth to me…" he said and looked down in guilt.

"That's not your fault, you know," I told him. He slowly nodded his head. "She must have really loved you."

"Huh?" he said, looking up at me with innocent eyes. Then he smiled. I loved that smile. "That's what my uncle tells me."

We sat in silence for a while.

It wasn't an awkward silence, though. It was full of warmth and happiness. There was a connection between us that didn't have to be noticed with words.

"It is my fault," Gaara whispered, staring at the ground.

I looked at him in shock. He shouldn't think that way.

"You're wrong. Don't say things like that," I meant to sound assertive, but my voice fell quieter with each word.

"If Shukaku wasn't in me, mother would've lived." He still looked at the ground.

"Shukaku…?"

"Before I was born, my father sealed a sand spirit in me. He lets me control sand, and it protects me… but sometimes, he scares me. He scares the villagers, too."

I didn't speak, I knew he wanted to say more.

"If I go to sleep, he takes over my body… He does horrible things to people when that happens," Gaara was whispering now, and shaking.

I could see his eyes glistening with tears. I hated seeing him like this.

Reaching out, I took his hand in mine. His eyes widened and he looked at me.

"Why aren't you running away? Like everyone else?" He searched my eyes desperately for answers.

"I'm not like everyone else, Gaara. I won't ever run away from you, you're my friend," I smiled at him.

Immediately, he started crying. But he was smiling now, too.

-o-

Weeks had gone by and tomorrow morning my father and I would be moving.

Unlike my first day here, I wasn't excited to go to the Rain village anymore. Don't get me wrong, I still hated it here. At least a gallon of sand had probably gotten stuck in my hair and eyes. It was a person who lived here that held me back.

Gaara had become my best friend. Out of all the countries I'd been to, I've never met anyone like him or had this strong of a bond with anyone. I didn't want to leave him.

"Gaara!" I ran over to my friend who was sitting on the swing set. I stood in front of him and leaned over so our faces were equal. Just like that first day we became friends. "Guess what!"

"What?" he answered, curious.

"I love you!" I held out a yellow daisy for him to take. His eyes widened in astonishment. He was always shocked when I said mushy stuff. I laughed lightly as he took the flower.

"Guess what else?"

He only stared at the flower in his hand.

"You're it!" I tagged him and ran away as fast as I could.

The day went by so fast. Just me and Gaara having fun. Hours passed in what felt like minutes, and pretty soon, it was sunset. I had to get home.

This was it. This was the last time I'd ever be around Gaara like this. I was leaving the village early tomorrow morning.

"I should probably go, it's getting dark." We were sitting on a hill. We'd been sliding down it before, Gaara controlling the sand so it was like a sled.

"Hikaru…" My heart skipped a beat whenever he said my name. I don't think I'd ever get used to it.

He knew. I had already told him that this was my last day.

Tears threatened to spill over my eyes.

"I'll miss you so much!" I wrapped my arms around him and cried.

Gaara just sat in shock before returning the hug. "I'll miss you too," he whispered. I could tell from his voice that he was close to tears as well.

"Please don't forget about me, okay?" Cause I won't ever, ever forget about you.

"I won't."

"Do you promise?" I asked.

"I promise," his voice held all the emotion in the world. "Do you?"

"I promise."

I let go of him and wiped my eyes. "You're the only true friend I've ever had," I said, and kissed him on the cheek.

I got up and left, walking towards my house.

Gaara looked after me, tears spilling over his cheeks.

I really hope I meet you again, Gaara. I'll always remember you.

-o-

Tada! Did you like it?

It's very ametuear so if you have any advice, I will gladly take it!

I'm thinking about making this a one shot, but if you people want me to continue it, I will