Author's Notes: Hello! This is a request fic for 'okami amaterasu'! It will be about three-four chapters long as far as I can tell, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!
Chapter 1
He makes it a point to leisurely walk close to the Academy during his morning stroll. He makes sure he's there by the time lunch break rolls around, just as he makes sure he's coincidentally there when the kids play together, their laughs and childish giggles untainted for years to come.
He's never had such an experience. He's never been asked to play with the other kids, not even once during his childhood. He's never had any friends during his rough times as a child. And to make it worse, the only kids who interacted with him were, sadly enough, his own siblings, who were also afraid of him.
Thus, the Kazekage Gaara always makes it a point to leisurely walk close to the Academy just as the kids come out to play. He makes sure he's there to help a lonely child gain a friend. He makes sure he's there to show children that everyone, everyone, can be a part of their group and that no one should be left behind.
He makes it a point to always accidentally stumble upon one particular child. The boy always comes. He's there in the morning and back again as parents of other children approach the Academy. He's always there, but never once has he gone inside, despite Gaara's best attempts.
And Gaara… doesn't understand it.
It's so clear that all the kid wants is to be able to go to the Academy. It's evident by the way his eyes trail after the mini-shinobi running around in the playground, and yet, he always finds a way to refuse what Gaara is discretely offering.
"Good morning, Kazekage-sama," The boy -Gaara has not yet learned his name- greets him politely and cheerfully as per usual. Gaara manages a smile he wouldn't have been able to pull off without sending people fleeing in the other direction in the past. He looks at the boy, sharp teeth glinting in the sun's morning light, pure black hair unruly and as messy as ever, eyes a deep golden hazel… He looks the same, but perhaps this time, it'll end differently.
"Good morning," He says slowly, his tone as soft as a breeze. The first time he'd spoken to the boy, he'd talked in his usual aloof and detached manner. He didn't get to talk for long before he found himself speaking to an empty space the boy used to occupy.
They slip into silence, both watching the kids on the other side of the gate as they play a game about ninjas saving princesses and ending reigns of deadly tyrants. Needless to say, Gaara finds it most peculiar and plain strange. Do these kids not know that saving people isn't always a ninja's job? Do they not know that these tyrants they so strive to defeat may as well be the shinobis themselves?
No, they don't, Gaara thinks fondly and is all the more grateful for it, they're being kids.
"It must be nice, right?" The boy asks. Gaara's eyes widen for all but a fraction of a second. In all the times they've purposefully crossed paths, it was always Gaara's offer that followed their shared greeting, quickly tailed by the boy's rapid rejection.
"What do you mean?" Gaara asks and is proud his voice is devoid of the surprise he feels.
"To have friends," The boy says matter-of-factly, glancing at Gaara out of the corner of his eye before his eyes dart back to the playground and the mock fight taking place. Gaara ponders his answer and takes a moment to give it. He thinks of bright, blue eyes full of devotion and understanding and everything Gaara has ever wanted. He thinks of spiky, blonde hair that remind him of the sun and cheer of life. He thinks of a face so brave and confident, always there to lend a hand, always there to help even if not asked, and has to nod.
"Yes, it is," Gaara replies as the boy patiently waits for an answer. The boy grins but doesn't say anything more. When the silence stretches too long, the shrill ring of the bell breaks it into little, tiny pieces. The kids groan loudly, annoyed that they have to interrupt their play. The Princess has not yet been saved and the tyrant is on the verge of being completely pulverized in their shared imagination, but alas, the teachers have started call them in, and in order to make their games and make-believe plays reality, they have to obey.
The mismatched pair outside the Academy's gates watch the children as they enter, their chatters and loud voices slowly become mere whispers as they move further away.
As the boy spins on his heel to head away, Gaara quickly stops him, "Hey," He calls, loud enough that the boy can in no way claim not hearing him. The boy turns back around and looks up at Gaara, "You can make friends at the Academy," Gaara informs with a gentle smile.
"I know," The boy says with a shrug as his expression brightens considerably, "I know," He repeats more firmly, sighing as if in slight sadness, "But I can't go there," Gaara notices that the boy doesn't say that he doesn't want to go to the Academy, but he simply can't for a reason Gaara has yet to unravel.
"Why not?" Gaara asks, taking his chances. His calm mood is mirrored in his face and body language. The boy nervously shifts his weight from foot to foot.
"My parents left me, and… Everyone doesn't like me," The boy says in a soft-spoken whisper. Gaara knows this pain. He knows the hurt that follows every time they glare. He knows the pain that is felt each time they utter an insult and walk away.
Gaara drops down to the boy's eye level, even though the kid finds a rock on the sandy ground more interesting than the Kazekage himself, "That is not right," Gaara says as he hesitantly pats the boy's head. The boy tenses quite suddenly, but he doesn't pull away, "I like you," He tells the boy because he has wanted to hear those very words back when he was just like this-abandoned, alone and so very, very cold inside.
The boy peeks at Gaara's face from under his bangs, trying to find a flicker of deceit or doubt. Gaara doesn't move as the boy studies him for a seemingly long time. Finally, the boy nods, seeming to have found whatever it is he was looking for.
"I think we can be friends," The boy says with a grin, showing off strangely sharp teeth, "Later!" The boy turns on his heel and quickly speeds away. Gaara watches the boy's retreating back. He keeps looking in his direction even when his small form disappears from his immediate view.
This might be the start of change. I will succeed. And Gaara feels all the more proud and sure of himself. Never has he taken the complications he is about to face into consideration, but he has the determination, and he will persevere.
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is my first time writing Gaara, so any help would be appreciated! Did you find him too OOC? XD Please leave a review! Did you like the first chapter, okami amaterasu?
Until next time!
