Title: Book For Sale
Author: kawaiichiisaikitsune (Dana-chan)
Information: Anime - Naruto - LeeXGaara
Warning: UN-beta'ed. Slight SLASH. Slight FLUFF.
Summary: A picture has been said to be worth a thousand words. But a book has a thousand words, plus more.
Author's Note: This came to me suddenly, and I have no idea why. I felt like I needed to write a story to celebrating the ending of my school year. I am finally a freshmen. :D
Dedication: This story is dedicated to all the people of whom I have hooked onto LeeXGaara. And to the person who would always review my stories and critique me helpfully: sylphstarwind. Thank you!
.Start
"What's this?" Temari questioned, picking up a package that had been placed neatly in front of their house. She took it into her house, eyes not leaving the perculiar item, yet still closing the door securely. Her words caught the attention of the puppet master, but she paid no mind to that.
Walking over to the counter nearest the door, she placed to average sized package on it, reading the lone label on it. "To: Gaara" was the main thing that stole her gaze. There was no returning name, only the return address which clued her to the fact that the sender was in the Konoha village. Curious as to what was inside this lovely box, she looked around the room she was in to see if the redhead was there.
"Kankurou, get Gaara," she ordered, glaring him down when he was about to defy her authority. Temari watched as the brunet left the room and waited somewhat patiently for the return of him and her other brother. She leaned against the edge of the counter, folding her arms across her chest, closing her eyes in contemplation.
Not too long later, her family came walking down the hall and she opened her eyes to acknowledge their presence. "Gaara," she gained his attention and gestured to the package, "this says it's to you. So, there you are." With that said, she walked away from the counter towards the door once more. "I'm going now, and I won't be back for a while. Kankurou, Gaara," she gave them a hard stare, no longer afraid of the redhead, "You better not do anything troublesome. See you later," the blonde smiled and left.
"Whew. She's gone. Finally," the puppet master voiced, facing his brother. "So... You gonna open it?" his eyes did a double-take to the package.
"Ah," Gaara replied, unhooking his crossed arms and working on the packaging tape to release the flaps to open the box. Eventually, Kankurou got too impatient and took one of his kunai out and cut the tape. He received a meaningless glare from Gaara, then the latter opened the box fully.
Taking the appearingly lone item out of the cardboard box, the redhead grimaced at the double packaging and at the wrapping paper used. The green, shimmering paper made him realize who sent this random present. He looked inside the box and noticed a card flush against the bottom of the box. He pulled it out, oblivious to his brother nearby, and slitted the envelope, pulling out the folded paper inside.
"Dear Gaara, Sorry about the wrapping paper, I had a feeling you wouldn't like it. Anyways, this present is my apology for not being able to come visit you tomorrow; we'll have to reschedule. But, I saw this on sale at a book store, and figured you might enjoy it. With love, Rock Lee." Were the words written neatly on the piece of paper. Gaara took the item into his hands and carefully undid the taped edges, wanting to rip the paper as little as possible, even though he hated it.
Once he finished unwrapping it, he placed the paper inside the cardboard box on the counter and stared at the strange present. Of course, he realized, this was from Lee, so it was probably the best he was going to get. It was a paperback book, with the words "Another Day In The Forgotten Palace" sprawled in a neat cursive on the front. He flipped the book over in his hands, skimming the summary on the back.
"What's it about?" Kankurou asked from beside him.
"It's about a boy in a palace," he looked back to the summary, "'Everyday he discovers new things, until one day, when he discovers the most important thing he will ever learn in his life'."
"And you're supposed to like that present? Ha." Kankurous rolled his eyes at the sender's idiocy, and walked away from Gaara, going to sit on the couch nearby.
"Nn," the brunet heard the audible sound of his brother's agreement, and listened to the footsteps signaling the rehdead's exit.
Once up in his room, Gaara put the box containing the card and wrapping paper on his desk. He kept his hold on the book, staring it down like it might disappear at any moment in time. Slightly curious but not really wanting anything to do with it, he skimmed through the pages, finding something bizarre in the middle of the book. He flipped back to that page and pulled out a neatly folded paper and gazed curiously at it. He placed the book on his desk as well and walked to the other side of his room with the creased paper.
Sitting down on a chair oddly placed in his room, he slowly unfolded the white paper. Inside was the scrawl of the green beast of Konoha, and he couldn't help but raise a non-existent eyebrow at the boy's antics.
"As you should've found out, this story is about a boy who lives in a palace, all alone becuase his parents died, and his siblings left him. Everyday he discovers something new and one day he comes across the ultimate discovery. If you have not figured out why I gave you this book, I'll tell you. You, Gaara, are a boy living in a large building - a palace. You act as though you're all alone, seeing as the person closest to you betrayed you and him along with your parents have died, who didn't even like you from the beginning. You believe your siblings only pretend to be there out of fear, and feel as though they, too, have left you alone. Each and every day you discover things; they may not be important or good things, but you discover them. And then, one day, you find the 'most unnecessary, but best thing' to come into your life. Yes, I remembered your words. Now, you're confused about where to go after losing everything and gaining it all over again. That's why I bought this book. It's like a guide for you. Please, read this book in all seriousness. I'll see you soon. With all the love I have to offer, Rock Lee. P.S. You are the best thing to come into my life, too, but not the most unnecessary."
Gaara smiled at the boy's words, slightly thankful for the book, although he was reluctant to admit it. He folded the note up and walked back over to his desk, opening a drawer and placing the paper inside it. He stared at the book for a while before picking it up with one hand and stepping back over to his chair. Settling himself comfortably in the seat, he opened the book to the first page and began reading.
"Everyone has their problems. Mine is my palace. . ."
End.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this. Take into mind he was written in less than one hour, I believe, and tell me your honest thoughts. Thanks for reading and possibly reviewing. Have a great day. :D
