Okay, for all the existing fans of DFAL, I, Seadrance, who shares this account with Kunoichi-in-training, am not claiming to own this, as KiT wrote this. I just rewrote it. Enjoy.
For our new comers, I hope this lives up to whatever expectations you had for it!
Seadrance (& KiT)
"Ahhhh! He's coming! RUN!" The children shouted in terror as the young boy offered them their ball back.
"Please, I don't want to hurt you... Don't run!" The children carried on running.
The rather small red-head watched them go sadly, his aqua eyes drifting across the playground of the local school. He froze, staring; there stood one girl, one girl who didn't run.
He vaguely remembered her name from roll-call; Hitaome… yes… Hitaome. He took in brown hair, short enough that it could only just brush her shoulders. It was her eyes, however, that glowed with beauty; teal.
Sand brushed past, blown up by the soft wind. Her teal eyes caught his aqua ones, almost the same colour, yet so very different. There they stood, each alone, at opposite ends of the playground, simply staring at each other, wondering.
Gaara almost took a step, but the teacher emerged from the classroom, looking scared and worried; the thought of what was so terrifying that twenty young children would stampede through the doors during recess time was unthinkable. She stopped, almost smiling, though still fearful, at the sight of the two children standing before her.
"Hitaome-chan," she called. "Gaara-sama. Recess is over," -indeed it was, the bell was ringing shrilly- "Please come inside."
The two obeyed, sneaking looks at each other as they did so. Gaara was awed, the look in her eyes, the lack of fear, simple curiosity and empathy, was beautiful. As he glanced at her one last time before passing through the doors, he decided, this girl was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in his six years of living.
For the first time, Gaara actually looked forward to school, for once, he knew, he wouldn't have to sit alone at lunch and recess, and during games, because it wouldn't be him watching the other children play together, it would be Hitaome playing alongside him.
'Why… why didn't I notice her before?' he wondered, looking out across the playground again the next day.
He watched her for a few minutes, watching her try, and fail, at building sandcastles. He smiled, and was surprised at just how right it felt; it was different from usual, it felt indescribably right.
"Would you like some help?" he crouched beside her, whispering as though sharing some precious secret.
She looked up at him, smiling. That smile was so cute, the dimples in her cheeks when she did it, the way her eyes lifted happily, the way that one corner of her mouth rose a fraction more. She nodded silently, then, realizing, or thinking, she'd been rude, she spoke.
"Hai," she replied quietly, not quite whispering.
For the remainder of the twenty minutes they were allowed they were silent, only the sound of other children, and their hands packing the sand met their ears; because there was no need for words, simply being there together was enough.
For weeks the bond grew, and the two young children spent more and more time together, evolving into a close friendship.
On a particularly ordinary day in Sunagakure no Sato, a young girl, about six, was sitting in what could pass for a front garden with her mother. Very few people, if any, were lucky enough to have a garden in Suna, so the sparse trees and potted flowers in the shade of the verandah, was pretty good.
Hitaome looked up from her homework, which her mother was helping her with, and looked towards the gate. An excited red-headed boy appeared, panting, at the aforementioned gate. He looked up at her with excited aqua eyes.
"I- found- a- den!" he panted out.
"You did?" she asked, hurrying over, oblivious to her mother's amused and affectionate eyes on her back. "Where?"
"In the Suna Caves!" he replied.
Hitaome turned to her mother with pleading eyes. The woman was at first unsure as to whether she should let her daughter, her only child, her precious one, go to the caves alone, but that look in Hitaome's eyes, she'd never seen it there before. She looked at the small boy, at first she'd been suspicious of his intentions, wondering whether he wanted to hurt her precious baby, but he'd proved himself to be a sweet, if not shy child, so she trusted him.
"Gaara-chan," she called, "Come here a moment, please."
"Hai," he hurried over, looking a little nervous.
"Look after Hitaome-chan, she is very precious to me," she smiled, and stroked his hair briefly. "Please?"
"Hai!" he nodded.
The two ran towards the caves, the journey blending together in their memories as they laughed and chatted together. In no time at all, it seemed, the duo was standing in front of the cave Gaara had found earlier.
The entrance was small, just big enough for the two small children to squeeze through. There was sunlight filtering through, illuminating it, and blanketing even the most distant corners in pale light.
"This is it," Gaara announced proudly, looking at Hitaome sideways.
She was simply staring, awestruck at the caves, and barely heard the question. Gaara's eyes saddened a little, fearing that she wouldn't like it as much as he had thought she would.
"S-sugoi!" she gasped belated. "Sugoi!"
He smiled happily, and sat down near the middle, his hands finding something there, just where he'd left it earlier. Hitaome sat opposite him, enjoying the warmth of the sun and looking around avidly. Gaara looked at her hands, which were sitting in her lap, and swallowed. With a shaking hand, he reached out and took one of hers carefully, almost scared he'd hurt her. She blinking in surprise, and looked towards him curiously. He pressed something hard and cool into her palm, and withdrew his hand.
She looked at it.
"It's a friendship stone," he explained nervously.
She looked at the broken stone, it seemed like it had been specially cut to fit another. She looked at his hands, and saw another rock, just the same as hers, held there. Gaara noticed her gaze, and held it out bashfully.
"See, I have the other half," he explained.
"Two halves of one whole…" she whispered, holding out her stone. "Just like us… best friends…"
They held their hands close, the stones meeting to lock almost seamlessly. They smiled at each other.
"Two halves of the same whole," she said quietly. "Like us."
"Because without each other," he continued.
"We're not complete," the breathed together.
Hitaome entered the kitchen one cloudy morning in Suna, the clouds looked like rain clouds, so the village elders were happy. She now wore the stone in a pouch around her neck, so part of her was always with Gaara.
She was smiling happily as she sat at the table, ready to start her breakfast with her family as usual, listen to her father's tales of missions, or her mother's of how they had come to have Hitaome. But her father spoke in a serious voice, and it wasn't his story-telling voice. She was quiet.
"Hitaome, honey," he said gently. "There's something that we need to tell you."
She looked at him, her smile, which had lingered hopefully, faded. She might have been you, but she knew a serious voice that wasn't a story-telling voice meant she had to listen, because it was something important, possibly bad.
"Honey, we're moving."
She stared at him, unable to comprehend what he'd told her. With two words, he'd uprooted her life, put it in a blender, and handed it back to her. Tears were starting to well up, and her head felt heavy. She lowered her eyes, and her head, so that she was looking at the floor.
"Hitaome, please look at me," her father said, sounding regretful.
She looked up, as instructed, and met his eyes with her own tear-filled ones.
"I know that this is hard for you," he said, starting to stand. "Especially because you've become such good friends with… Gaara."
She noted the pause dully, but didn't really hear his words. Her sadness was giving way to rage.
"You… how could you understand?!" she shouted, standing up with her fists clenched. "You don't understand at all! He's my best friend! He's my only friend! He gave me this! Look! We're two halves of the same whole! Incomplete without each other! Would you tear me in half? Because that's what you're doing!"
Why was her face wet? She was angry! So why was her face wet? She brushed a hand to her cheek, and dropped the small bag, so it fell onto her chest. She looked at the wetness on her hand, and realized that she was crying.
"Come here honey," her mother offered, her arms open to her. "Shh, baby. I know it's hard, I know."
Hitaome cried for so long she lost track of time.
Later that morning, Gaara was waiting by what was quite possibly the only tree in Suna. It was huge, and stretched far higher than even the man Gaara knew was his father was tall. He wasn't sure what a father was supposed to be like, but he had a vague idea from what Hitaome had told him of her father that his own father wasn't like that.
This tree was special to him, because it was where he and Hitaome had carved their names into the trunk. The letters were clumsy, and they weren't very deep, but they were there. This tree was where he waited for her each day, but today, she was late.
Worried, and a little hurt, he had wandered through village, not feeling the looks of hatred and fear he always received. His feet brought him to Hitaome's house, but it was empty. Confused, he began to head back to the tree, but he stopped, his eyes finding a sign that hadn't been there the last time. For Sale.
His heart thudded in his chest, the pain that had softened over the weeks with Hitaome, stabbed sharply back, almost stronger. He continued his way to the tree, feeling utterly confused, and pained.
"Mum! Please?" Hitaome begged, looking imploringly up at her mother. "Please? I can't leave without saying goodbye!"
Her mother looked at her, then sighed. "Very well, but hurry back."
Hitaome ran through the village, heading to their Meeting Tree. The tree stood just outside the main district, but close enough to both their houses. It was very tall, so she could always find it easily. Somehow, she knew she could have found it in her sleep, if Gaara was there waiting.
"I… I missed him," she murmured sadly. "He… I must have come too late, and he gave up."
She sat down at the base of the tree, and pulled the bag out of her shirt, stroking it gently. Her teal eyes watched sadly, looking down at the village that she was to leave that same day. They brightened a little as she took in a familiar red-head.
"Gaara-kun!" she shouted, running towards him.
Gaara looked up from the ground, he'd been walking silently towards the tree, but the voice of his best friend had caught his attention.
"Hitaome? I… I thought you didn't want to meet with me anymore," he said sadly as she stopped in front of him.
"I… I do want to meet with you," she replied honestly, then painfully continued. "But I can't."
"D… does your Dad not trust me?" he asked, a little angry, but mostly hurt. "Does he not want you to be around me anymore? I can prove it to him! I can, I'll promise hi-."
"It's not that," she interrupted. "I'm moving… to Konoha."
Silence reigned.
"W… Why are you leaving me? D-did I do something wrong?" Gaara asked anxiously, gripping her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I… Do you not want to be my friend anymore? Did I… am I boring?"
"NO!" Hitaome shook her head. "No! We'll always be friends! I promise!"
"Hitaome!" her father called, appearing at the bottom of the street. "We're leaving now! Hurry!"
"Gaara," she looked at him, starting to pull away, but holding his hands carefully in hers. "I'll come back… I promise!"
"Hitaome."
She was gone, or leaving, and nothing lingered but the stone resting over his heart, identical to the one over hers.
"Hitaome! You'd better come back to me soon!" he yelled.
She half turned, smiling at him, but then she was gone, and Gaara was alone again. No more best friend by his side. No more Hitaome.
"Gaara… Gaara…" she called, then brushed her hand against his shoulder. "Are you asleep?"
"No, Temari," he said icily. "I don't sleep, remember?"
"Gomen, Gaara," she apologized. "We're in Konoha, and the Chuunin exams are right around the corner.
He said nothing.
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Seadrance (& KiT)
