The evening sun cast a long eerie shadow across the desert village. Complex structures made of sandstone and thick layers of dyed rock erupted from the ground, each lining up in a row of ornament neighborhoods. Specks of loose sand drifted across the roofing of each building, flowing slowly down the sides and into the air. The only thing that carried such a delicate substance was a stifled breeze, one that just barely created a dull whistle.
"Gaa-kun! It'll be fun!" faint yells accompanied by strings of laughter echoed across the backways of Sunagakure.
There, standing with her hands on her hips, was seven year old, Emiko Tsyuka. Her appearance wasn't necessarily neat, nor dirty, with messy blonde locks and a piercing violet gaze. Of course, that did not excuse the fact that she rarely appeared threatening. That is, to everyone other than Sabaku No Gaara, who flinched at Emi's joking glare.
"How could a sleepover help me sleep?" Gaara timidly asked, clutching his Teddy Bear. It had been less than a week since he had met Emiko obnoxiously at the park and obviously, he had not become accustomed to her straight forward behavior.
"We can be like," Emiko paused, "sleeping buddies!" a ring of laughter sputtered from the girl's mouth.
Gaara stared at her in bewilderment, a pink edge fading to his cheeks. "Will that help?" he questioned densely, his voice muffled by Emi's scarf (which he decided to use to hide his very obvious blush). Emiko merely nodded, overtaken by the excitement that came with the supposed 'sleepover'. She paid no head to Gaara's uncomfortable shifting, nor to the fact that her scarf had disappeared from around her neck.
"Sleeping buddies always help!" Emi spoke up. "I pinkie swear on it!" holding out her thin finger, Emiko patiently awaited her friend's agreement, all the while, a beaming smile on her face. Gaara simply stared at her ourstretched finger in mild confusion. He wasn't accustomed to making promises and had no idea what to do with his own hands. Fortunately, Emiko picked up on Gaara's awkward stare within the span of seconds. "You put your hand like this," she instructed. As expected, the boy followed the directions, his face heating up at Emi's warm touch, "then you lock pinkies with me. See? Simple!"
"Oh….yeah, simple." Gaara said, staring in insterest at their interlinked fingers. He had observed other kids doing such a thing before, however, at the time, it seemed much less interesting.
"Sleepover it is then!" Emiko shouted, pulling her hand away to pump her fists into the air. Her redheaded friend simply watched, yearning for the warmth on his hand once more.
WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF
If I get enough support and am bored enough, I'll make a second part that includes the sleepover. Oh, and as always, I don't own Naruto~