-Myah. I felt like writing a tragedy, and I happened to think of something like this when I was riding in a car, staring out the window at the sun. My eyes have never been the same since. The sun was SO YELLOW!

MP-chan: ...MP-chan thinks you're stupid for looking directly at the sun.

-MP-chan is gonna go back onto the streets if they keep saying things that have nothing to do with them. Now say the disclaimer or I will make sure that you never get a chance to see the yellow sun again.

MP-chan: MP-chan is scared . . . Sunadokei-chan doesn't own Naruto or anything else she writes about. Maybe she will someday when she is a multimillionaire. But not yet.

-Good. Now on with the story.

Normal text: the regular story

Italics: memories

The trees blew slowly in the wind, swaying to and fro like giant metronomes. The gusts tore off the leaves and swept them far away to lands unseen. The sand was swept into dust devils, picking up trash and spitting it out after it had run its course. It was warm, but it should only be expected in a desert region like that.

Gaara sat on the top of a house, looking upward at the orange sunset sky. His gourd was pulling him backward into a slight reclining state, which made him seem a bit more peaceful and relaxed, despite the troubled state his mind was in. He was thinking about her . . . the one he had lost. It was almost a month now since she left him . . . since she died.

"Hi, I'm Karumi."

Her dark brown hair was cut in an odd fashion where the front was longer than the back, and the tips made a C around her slender neck. She wore simple black clothes, and her large brown eyes looked innocent and loving.

Gaara looked to the side and remained silent while Temari and Kankuro both gave a slight wave and grinned.

"She will be joining you in your practices now. Try to make her feel comfortable," Baki said, nodding toward the girl.

Gaara had taken a slight interest in Karumi; his eyes moved and stayed on her as he watched her movements carefully.

"Don't worry, Baki-sensei," the girl said as she smiled. "I'll be fine."

Gaara's eyes closed. It wasn't his fault, and everything had to die eventually. That was what he lived on, right? Death and chaos . . . but this was the only death that had affected him so. Everyone else who had succumbed to his power, they all didn't matter. She was the only one he really cared about, the only one who he didn't want to leave.

His hair was ruffled in the gusts, and the sun steadily sank lower and lower. The sky was now only orange in the area of the half-circle that was peeking over the horizon, and everywhere else was a dull, dark blue. Gaara could hear Kankuro and Temari talking from inside the house, saying things about how she had gone and how it was no use to think about it now. But no matter what they said, it still tore Gaara up from the inside out.

"You're so superfluous. Why Baki-sensei assigned you to work with us is beyond me."

Gaara's face whipped to the side as a hand flew by. Karumi's eyes were twisted up like she was about to cry, but no tears flowed forward.

Temari and Kankuro stood there, shocked at how bold this girl was. Didn't she know that Gaara could kill her in a matter of seconds?

"I don't care if that's how you feel about me. I was told to work with you, and that's what I'm going to do. You're not going to push me around like a rag doll; no one is," Karumi said angrily.

Gaara stood up straight again slowly, but he didn't attack. Something kept him from killing her right then and there. The demon inside of him roared madly, pleading for her death, but it was Gaara's own mind that held him back.

Karumi's sash fluttered as she turned on her heel and walked away. But she stopped, rubbed her eyes, and muttered, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Temari and Kankuro were positively stunned.

Gaara's eyes opened, remembering the first time he had ever allowed someone to smack him. He felt bad after calling her superfluous, and in truth, his mouth didn't speak what was truly in his mind. He always regretted those words.

Temari peeked up at him from the edge of the roof.

"Gaara . . . are you going to be coming in soon, or are you gonna stay out here until the sun is completely gone?"

Gaara gave a slight "humph" and said nothing more. Temari sighed and her head disappeared from the roof's edge, and Gaara got back to thinking.

"Gaara, don't push me away. I can help you out, you know?" Karumi's arms slithered around Gaara's shoulders, and her chin rested on his collarbone. Gaara's eyes widened at this affectionate hug, but he didn't shrink from it. It felt warm to him, warmer than anything else he'd felt in a long time.

"What . . . are you doing?" he uttered, feeling her chest press against his back.

"I'm showing you what it feels like to have someone want to be close to you."

Karumi's eyes closed. "It doesn't feel bad, does it? Because if you don't like it, I can always stop."

"No . . . no, that's fine. It doesn't matter to me. Do what you want." A blush crept slowly into Gaara's cheeks, which was odd. The great Gaara never blushed . . . did he?

Karumi smiled.

The sun was practically gone, and there was only a slight pink edge to the sky. The wind had died slightly, and all the sand on the ground had settled in a spot for the night. The only one who seemed to be restless and awake was Gaara, still on the rooftop.

That embrace from her was the only sensation that he had in his mind that he could dispose of. It lingered there, like an aftertaste of an exotic food. The way her arms lay on him perfectly, her angelic smile . . . all of it gone so fast. She hadn't even spent a full year with his team until she was called away.

Gaara's eyes continued to search the sky, watching every bird, every insect. He felt an odd tingling around his shoulders, where Karumi's arms were that day. It was as if her silhouette were outlined and imprinted on his body, never to leave.

Gaara's hands clenched tightly. It wasn't fair; everything that could heal him was right there, but then it had to be taken away. It was like he was a child, begging for his toy back after an adult had taken it. It was a curious, but sad sensation.

The masked man looked back and forth, examining Gaara's teammates as he tried to assess how to escape the situation. It was the team's mission: to stop this man from escaping Sunagakure.

No one spoke. Gaara was getting ready to use his Desert Coffin when he felt a nudging from his left. He looked over and saw Karumi.

"Don't. Look at him. He's getting ready to make the first move."

Gaara looked back at the man. He had drawn three kunai from his pouch and threw one at a tree. Kankuro and Temari leapt down to strike when the man leaped into another tree and threw another kunai toward Karumi. She dodged it easily, but while Kankuro and Temari began to attack, he threw his last kunai at Karumi's blind spot, an underhanded trick used only by people like him.

Gaara's eyes opened as he recalled the whole thing.

Karumi's pupils dilated and her body fell forward onto the ground.

"Karumi!" Gaara saw her fall and rushed to her side. He lifted her head gently. Blood trickled down out of her mouth and onto the ground.

"Gaara . . . are you okay?" Gaara nodded slowly.

"Good. And Temari and Kankuro?" Gaara's eyes were shadowed as he nodded once more.

Karumi shuddered in pain as blood leaked from the wound in her heart. "That's good. Then there's no reason for any aid, is there? . . .Ah, so this is what a true heartbreak is. . . ."

Temari and Kankuro rushed over and saw what had happened. They hung their heads and suddenly found a new interest in the ground. Karumi noticed them.

"Temari and Kankuro . . . thank you for letting me be a part of your group. It was truly a good experience for me. . . . And Gaara . . . I'm sorry. I was hoping that if I could help you just a little bit, there would be no reason for you to be feared anymore, and you wouldn't be shunned. . . . "

Karumi shuddered again, this time more violently.

"It seems my time is almost up. I won't forget any of you . . . and Gaara . . . when I'm finally gone, I want my body to be placed somewhere so that you won't forget me either. I'll miss you. . . ."

Karumi's eyes dulled, and her body went limp.

"Goodbye . . . Gaara. And don't forget. . . ." Karumi let out her last breath.

Temari's eyes tightened as she tried to keep the tears from flowing, and Kankuro kept his eyes on the ground. Gaara stared at Karumi's empty face for a full 20 seconds, then laid her down.

The masked man never escaped Sunagakure alive.

The sky was pure black as Gaara slid down from his sitting spot on the roof. He strode to a distant corner, near enough to the house to be part of the property, but far enough that it would take a few minutes to get there.

He came to a lone slab of rock, propped against the fence, and put his hand on it. He closed his eyes, then took a few deep breaths, emptying his mind of his furious thoughts. It was no use reminding himself; she couldn't be brought back to life, even with the strongest ninjutsu, or kinjutsu, for that matter. It was all pointless . . . or superfluous, as he called her so long ago.

Opening his eyes and removing his hand, Gaara turned on his heel and walked back toward the house, only to find Temari and Kankuro waiting outside for him.

"Gaara . . ." Kankuro uttered slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Gaara said irritably.

Temari and Kankuro sighed. He was back to the same old Gaara.

All three walked back inside the house.

And on that lone slab of rock in the corner, was someone's handwriting, scratched on with a kunai. And on it was this:

Tokoyonokuni Karumi

As fresh as the morning breeze, as kind as a bird to its young.

Truly an angel on earth, cloaked in sand.

Ha! I am awful at writing tragedies. Be sure to review and tell me if it sucks or not.

And if you know japanese, you would have seen this, but Karumi's last name, "tokoyonokuni" means "heaven" in japanese. Or at least I think it does. That's what an online Japanese-English dictionary told me. Correct me if I'm wrong.