Hi! I have really nothing to put here, so...go right ahead and read!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto, but my OCs are MINES.
Arigotou!
-X-
Two months and eight days before the birth of the Kyuubi's "container", in a remote part of Konoha, a girl with purple eyes was born.
The girl came into the world with a few tears but did not cry or bawl like the others. Her creamy white skin was smooth, and her lips bright pink.
"Sh-she's beautiful..." A female voice said in the background. The girl's mother smiled.
"Well, Li-an, since...well, you are my best friend, what...shall we name her?" Izumi Natsuro asked, her tired face bright and gentle.
Li-an thought for a moment, finger poised underneath her skin. "Oh, I know!" She cried, clapping her hands together. "Um, although this is more of a Chinese name..."
"Oh, no, it's ok!" Izumi said, grinning. Li-an smiled. "Then how about Meimei? Which means, 'beautiful'."
Izumi giggled. "Meimei Natsuro. I love it!" She tickled the girl under her chin. Meimei giggled.
"Welcome, Meimei, welcome!"
-X-
When the Kyuubi had Konoha in its clutches, the small Natsuro clan fled to Suna, along with Meimei's caretaker, Li-an. The Natsuro clan wasn't much, consisted only of about eleven members, counting Li-an. But, their ability is quite special.
When a Natsuro focuses enough chakra at their palms, a weapon could be form; mostly kunais and shruikens, and a few katana here and then. But, to make the weapons hardy enough for use, a lot of chakra must be used. Thus this Kekkai Genkai is not used often.
-X-
Everyday, Meimei spent her days in the sands of Suna, sitting in her sandbox with Li-an crouching next to her, a bright smile on her face while the girl's mother and father went on missions for Suna. Meimei caught on the smile, and soon was grinning at everyone she saw, waddling around on her strong legs.
One day, after four years of living in Suna, Meimei caught sight of a flash of red hair when playing down by the park. Surprised, Meimei ran after it. It turned out to be a boy, who was taller and older than her.
"W-Wait, Nii-san!" She cried, her short black hair bounding on her shoulder. The boy saw her and ran too, his face frightened. Meimei lost him in the dust of Suna. She cocked her head, puzzled, while Li-an breathlessly caught up to her, her two braids hanging down her shoulders.
"Meimei-chan, don't run off like that!" She scolded, catching her breath and taking the young girl's hands. "But Nii-san-" Meimei started, pointing at the winding streets in front of her. Li-an gave her a bright smile. "Don't worry, maybe we'll run into him tomorrow, and you can say hi." She pulled Meimei along with her back onto the road to their apartment. "And I'm gonna be with you when you do," Li-an added, her brown eyes thoughtfully looking at the setting sun.
-X-
Meimei didn't see the boy for another week. But when she did, she tugged on the sleeve of Li-an, urging her to go say hi to the boy. The Chinese woman giggled and took her hand, the two making their way to the red-headed boy.
"Nii-san..." Meimei said, reaching her hand out slightly. The boy's back was facing the two girls, and he was bent over the sandbox. The boy turned. "Hi!" Meimei said, grinning Li-an's grin. "I'm Meimei! And this is Li-an-san!" The boy said nothing but just stared. Meimei frowned.
"Li-an-san..." she said, lips trembling. Li-an hushed her. "It's ok, maybe he doesn't like company." Li-an gave the boy a warm smile, and began to push Meimei back.
"W-Wait! I-I'm G-Gaara..." he said, eyes wide. Meimei turned back to him and grinned. "Can I play with you?" She asked excitedly, hands clasped almost pleadingly.
Gaara stammered. "O-Ok, I-I guess..." he said, casting his eyes down. Meimei smiled. "Great!" Then to Li-an, she said, "Li-an-san! I'm gonna be Gaara's friend from now on, can I?" Li-an beamed. "Of course! I can't pick your friends! Now, can I trust you guys to stay here?" Meimei nodded quickly. "Say yes, Gaara-san!" She said, pulling on his arm. Gaara's eyes trailed to the rising sand at his feet.
I-I don't think you can trust me..." he said, frowning. "Why, Gaara-san?" Meimei frowned too. Gaara looked down at the sand again, which was inching closer to the girl's feet, ready to repel when danger flashed.
"B-Because, because of the, the..." his voice trailed away. "What is is Nii-san?" Meimei asked gently, putting a hand on his hunched shoulders. His eyes widened again, and the sand slithered around her shoes. "The monster." He muttered quickly, hoping she couldn't hear and would ask him to repeat what he just said, and him running away and never coming back to those large amethyst eyes.
But Li-an had sharp hearing.
"Sabuko-no-Gaara-chan?" Li-an asked, bending down to look at him in the eye. Gaara's eyes widened. "Y-Yes?" He stammered, afraid of being shunned of beaten. His pulse quickened, and the sand hissed to Li-an's sandals, flicking at the toes.
But Li-an's face showed no harshness or hate. "Well I trust you," she said, smiling. "And so does she. That's two against one. And if you're afraid of something happening, I can stay here with you guys, ok?" Gaara's small mouth opened in shock. "Y-Yeah, Nii-san! Li-an-san will play with us! She plays with me all the time!" Meimei cried, draping both arms on Gaara's shoulders from behind, kneeling to meet his sitting height. Gaara's cheeks tinted pink.
"O-Ok, i-it you say so," he said, half smiling at the retreating sand. "Great! Let's play!" Meimei said, clapping happily.
And so the three played.
-X-
A year later, Li-an was clutching a screaming Meimei close to her. "NO NO NO! I don't WANNA go back! I wanna stay here with Nii-san! I wanna play with Gaara-nii-san!!" She cried, tears streaming down her small cheeks.
"Come on now, we already stayed an extra two years after the reconstruction was done. Please Meimei-chan, let's go. Your okaa-san is waiting for you." Li-an said gently, but loud enough to be heard over her screams.
"No! Gaara-nii-san is waiting for me also! He says he has no one to play with! And that I'm the only one!" Meimei cried, kicking and pouncing on Li-an's arms, which seemed to have no effect on the Chinese woman.
Suddenly, a small face peered shyly from behind the wall. His red hair waved gently in the breeze. "Gaara-chan!"
"A-Are you really...going to go?" He asked, holding a teddy bear under his arms. Meimei sniffed. "But I don't wanna go Nii-san! I wanna stay here and play with you!" Gaara took a step forward.
"I wanna stay here in Suna, and be your friend!" Another step forward.
"I-I wanted...I wanted us to go to the Academy and be ninjas together too!" Another step forward. Now Meimei was sobbing her little heart out on Li-an's arms. Gaara stopped in front of the girl. "M-Meimei-chan..." He said, brushing the bangs out of her eyes. Meimei sniffed and looked up and saw looking into the shiny glass eyes of the chocolate brown teddy bear. "F-For you..." Gaara said, a bit embarrassed as he held the bear at Meimei's eye level.
Meimei broke free and hugged it tight, tears threatening to fall again. "G-Gaara-nii-san...THANK YOU!" She cried, bowing her head. Gaara smiled. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't get you anything, Gaara-san..." Meimei whispered, wiping her tears away with her arm. Gaara's smile grew bigger.
"That's ok! If...if you would be my friend forever, it would be better than anypresent!" Gaara looked close to tears too. "GAARA!" Meimei cried, wrapping her arms tightly around Gaara's waist. Both their tears fell to the desert ground that day.
-X-
It was terrible for her. Walking through the streets you used to walk every morning, noon, and night, smiling and waving to live and healthy people, now seeing them, the same cheerful people who had waved and smiled back, dead with a hole torn through their stomach. Meimei's stomach churned.
It has only been two years from Gaara's departure, and a year from starting the Academy with her new found second best friend, the Kyuubi's "container" himself. The two shared a similar smile.
But now, the grin had disappeared from her face, as she stood before the torn bodies of her mother and Li-an, and her father, who slumped against a wall trying to protect them. And where was she when her family went through that terrible fate?
Laughing and having fun at school. Meimei smiled a pained smile at her selfishness. She could've stayed home with them. She could've perhaps done something about it. But she didn't. She was away, safe and sound from all dangers. For the second time in her life, Meimei dropped to her knees and cried her heart out.
-X-
Meimei wandered with her Team 13 teammates, Karu Kurisagai and Takeshi Hiharu, in the Forest of Death, wandering around for the missing Heaven scroll, and perhaps a river where they can get water. Meimei grinned at the boys when they flopped down by a tree to rest. She'd volunteered to get water. Humming a random tune, the eleven year old girl skipped into the dark forest, an empty bottle in hand.
She stopped when she heard muffle cries at her right. She stopped and peered into the bushes, where she saw a certain red haired boy with his siblings. Meimei was about to call out his name like old friends, but froze when she figured where the muffle cries came from. Her eyes widened, then clamped shut as the man screamed one last time. Warm liquid splattered on her face. Meimei shivered, remembering the night four years ago. She sighed wearily, wiping the blood off her chin and backed off to find water. She didn't see Gaara looking in her direction suspiciously. She didn't hear their retreating footsteps as they presented themselves to the tower on the first day of the start of the exam. Too much on her mind.
-X-
Her fingers slipped off Sasuke's hands as he turned his head, frowning. "Well. If that is your choice, then I have made mines. From now on, Uchiha Sasuke, we are enemies." Sasuke's blood turned cold. There was...something in the way she said it that made his blood turn cold and his pulse speed up. "S-So?" He said, indifferent. "So, Uchiha," Meimei said coldly, glaring at him, "so, consider this friendship over." Meimei closed her eyes and turned, and walked back to Konoha, never looking back at her enemy. After all, why give your enemies a second look?
His fist trembled, his lips trembled, his whole body felt cold. He gritted his teeth and walked on. "Who the hell cares? I'm off to get power, revenge! And when I come back, I'll be stronger than her. Heh. Who the hell needs friends any-" Sasuke froze.
"In order to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, you must take the life of your best friend..." Sasuke kicked a stone in frustration. Why hadn't he thought about killing her? If Naruto was so hard to beat, then he should...Sasuke bit his lip in anger. 'Forget her,' he thought angrily. 'No one...must be in the way of your training.'
-X-
She stood on the top branch, looking down at the dead man, her face worn out but triumphant. She had insisted on following Shikamaru's group to retrieve Sasuke. She had wanted to face Sasuke. Her enemy. The one who made Sakura cry. But Meimei wanted Naruto to do it. After all. He promised.
"This is a promise of a life time!" Meimei smiled. "I-I'll leave that to you, Naruto-san," she muttered, smiling lightly. Her mid-back hair swayed in the breeze.
And she fell.
When she came to, she was in the hospital. Her left arm was bandaged heavily, and she was looking at the bright ceiling through her right eye. Her left eye blinked once under the bandages. Meimei sat up and cried out in pain. Meimei sighed. 'Another...failure...' she thought, eyes casted down. She suddenly wanted to hug her bear tightly, just like she used to every night, especially since she was all alone, with no parents to confront her problems to, no Li-an to speak to...
Tears fell down her face once again.
-X-
And now, Meimei stood on top of a Suna house building, her eyes scanning for a certain red haired boy. When no one showed up in the deserted streets, Meimei ran over to the Kazekage's office. After all, Gaara is most likely to be there.
"Gaara-sama, you have a visitor," a tall woman with chestnut brown hair said, smiling slightly. "Let them come in." Gaara said, his eyes glued to whatever was outside the window, in the horizon. "Alright." The woman said, then retreated to let Meimei enter.
"Gaara-nii-san..." The young Kazekage never wasted a moment in turning around. He gaped at the smiling face of a once lost childhood friend. "Happy birthday, Gaara-nii-san." She took a hesitant step forward, her mind flashing to the day three years ago, in the Forest of Death. But Meimei wasn't afraid. Gaara had become the Kazekage. Which means he would protect his village with his life, instead of taking it. Meimei smiled and spread her arms and hugged Gaara tightly.
"Meimei..." Meimei had buried her face into his shirt to hide the tears. After all, fourteen year olds shouldn't cry anymore.
"I've missed you so much..."
-X-
High above a tall mountain, Meimei stood, her hands wrapped closely around Gaara's. "Isn't the view beautiful, Gaara-san?" Meimei asked, shouting slightly to be heard over the roar of the wind. A black and red mask hung on the side of her head. "Yes, it is." Gaara said peacefully. He was rid of Shukaku, and he felt he could finally settle into life peacefully, with the person he'd wish to be with since the start.
"Hey Gaara-san," Meimei said, a tint of pink on her cheeks. "Hm?" Meimei paused, still staring out. "N-never mind," she said, grinning to herself.
The wind continued to blow warmly at the two couple.
-X-
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