Ok, extremely nervous about this new story. I obviously don't own Naruto. Would I be posting on here if I did? Please tell me what you think after you've read please.


The wind picked up, pelting the lone little boy on the street. He whimpered as the icy wind blew straight through the meager, thin layer that he was wearing. The weather was doing nothing for the hybrid's mood, which had had him close to tears long before the storm had ever started. He wrapped his soaked tail around his drawn up knees, trying to preserve even a small amount of body heat to stay warm. He kept his head down, the abnormally large ears laying flat on his head allowing water to drip off of them and onto his shoulders.

"Gaara!" His head shot up, ears twitching, trying to see if his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Gaara!" That was definitely real. His head went this way and that, attempting to find the source of the voice. He was startled when an out of breath Temari and Kankuro suddenly appeared before him

"There- (pant) –you are! (pant pant) We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Where-" Gaara cut off Kankuro before he could say anything else by jumping up, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Kankuro looked over at his sister before holding onto the smaller boy latched onto him, putting one arm under him while the other rubbed up and down his back.

"You're fine now, I promise. You're going to be fine." Temari simply smiled and shook her head, turning and walking in the direction of the flat they were renting. The rain had lightened up on the walk back, which was something all of them were grateful for. Gaara hadn't loosened his hold at all by the time they'd gotten back and Kankuro chuckled as he had to gently pry the shivering arms off of him.

"Oi, come on Gaara, you need to warm up." Gaara didn't reply, he was shivering too badly to. Temari, who had walked away to start a bath, came back to the entryway.

"Come on Gaara, don't you want to warm up?" The smaller boy nodded, his teeth still chattering.

"There's a warm bath ready, just head back, k?"

"Th-thank yo-ou."

"No problem." Temari looked over at Kankuro as their little brother went to get warm.

"Don't get too mad at him Kankuro, you know how he is." He simply sighed, taking off his dripping shoes and hat.

"Yeah I know, I wasn't gunna get angry. I'm just worried about tomorrow." Temari nodded her head in understanding.

"Did you write the note?"

"Yeah, it's on the table." Temari let out an aggravated breath, staring intently at the wall.

"I hate doing this. It's not fair!" He sighed, looking up at her from taking off his socks.

"Would you have it any other way?" She softened at that, the tension leaving her as she gave him a small smile.

"Never."

"Temari?" Said girl quickly turned around and smiled at her little brother, who was standing in the hallway with a large towel around his waist.

"Hey come on, you should be asleep." He simply stood there, his teal eyes going back and forth between Temari and Kankuro.

"Are you mad?" The two shared a glance before Kankuro decided to answer.

"We're not mad, just get some sleep, ok?" He slowly nodded, bringing up a hand to cover his yawn. "'Night."

"Goodnight."

"Sweet Dreams."

XxX

"Gaara! Come on!" They weren't going to be late, but Temari definitely didn't like how long her brother was taking. She was about to call out again when she saw her brother walk in the kitchen pulling a long sleeve brown shirt over his head.

"Morning."

"Morning…" Temari smiled at how tired he sounded.

"Sleep well?" He nodded slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"That's good." She set a plate of taiyaki in front of him, immediately getting his attention. His hears perked up as he looked up at her, a large smile gracing his features making him look a lot younger than he actually was.

"Thank you Temari." She smiled at him, ruffling his hair a bit.

"No problem. Want some milk?" He quickly nodded, his tail swishing happily back and forth behind him. Gaara turned around to glare at his older brother as he walked in the kitchen. Kankuro just chuckled and went to the cupboard to get a glass down.

"Eat up, we don't want to be late." Gaara simply stuck his tongue out at him before turning back to his plate to start eating. Temari chuckled at the two as she sat down the glass of milk in front of her youngest brother.

"Pack your bag Gaara?" He nodded, not wanting to talk with his mouth full.

"You didn't forget the note?" He nodded again, still eating.

"Alright, I'm going to finish getting ready." She walked out, giving Kankuro a warning look before exiting. He simply rolled his eyes at her, giving her an exasperated look in return. Kankuro and Gaara finished their respective breakfasts in silence, Kankuro taking his younger brother's dishes when he went to wash them in the sink.

"Go check your bag." Gaara nodded, confused but not questioning it. He walked out of the kitchen, turning down the hall toward his bedroom. He walked in and looked around for his bag, even going so far as to check under the bed. That was how Temari found him, tail high in the air with his head under the bed.

"Nice hiding spot." She stifled a chuckle as she heard a loud thunk when her little brother's head connected with the bed. He slowly came out from under the bed.

"I wasn't hiding. I can't find my bag." Gaara had a hand to the back of his head, his lips forming a pout as he kept his eyes downcast. Temari immediately felt bad as she went forward and knelt in front of him, gently running a hand over one of his ears.

"Sorry. It's by the door, I already checked it for you." She smiled, leaning forward to kiss the top of his head.

"Feeling better?"

"Oi! Come on! We need to get going here!" Temari helped Gaara up when they heard Kankuro shout from the front hall.

"Don't forget your hat." He quickly nodded and ran back to get it, leaving Temari and Kankuro by the front door.

"You really think this is ok?" Temari nodded, staring off at the wall.

"We can't keep him locked up you know." He simply sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair. Gaara came back out before either of them could say anything else on the matter. He was wearing a large black knitted hat that hid his ears perfectly, his tail safely wrapped around his abdomen under his shirt.

"Ready." Temari smiled, handing off Gaara's bag to their brother as she turned to unlock and open the door.

"It's your first day, let him carry it." Gaara laughed as he went out of the door, Kankuro simply rolling his eyes and shouldering the bag as he followed them out, locking the door behind them.

XxX

Gaara slowed down noticeably as they got closer to the school. Temari saw this and looked back at Kankuro, who simply raised an eyebrow at her. She glared until he caved, giving her a peeved look.

"You don't need to slow down Gaara. Everything will be fine." Gaara glanced back at that, giving his brother a worried look.

"Are you sure?" Kankuro simply nodded and continued walking. They finally got to the school a few minutes later, the rest of the walk having been in silence. The main building was entirely brick with a few smaller yet just as impressive brick buildings around other parts of the large campus. Kankuro waved his hand in front of his brother's face as he continued to stare at the large structures in front of him. Gaara's head snapped back when he noticed the large object suddenly obstructing his view.

"Yes?" He slipped the bag off of his shoulder, handing it over to the red head.

"Here, take it. Bag service is up." Gaara took the bag and held it on front of himself, crossing his arms over it as he continued to stare at all of the other students milling about.

"We're gunna head out now, alright?" Gaara looked over at his sister before taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I guess." She turned around to look at Kankuro but just rolled her eyes when she saw him already walking away.

"We both have to work late tonight. You ok walking back on your own?" He slowly nodded, gripping the bag a bit tighter against him. She smiled and hugged him quickly.

"Do your best." She gave him one last hug before turning and walking away, waving at the gate before disappearing from view entirely. Gaara took a deep breath before turning back to face the school.

"Hey!" He jumped as he heard someone call out loudly.

"Hey!" The red headed boy dropped his bag in fright as a boy with bright blond hair suddenly appeared before him.

"Dobe, you shouldn't scare people, they'll start running away." Gaara looked over to see another boy walking toward them with pale skin and long, spiky black hair.

"I know that Teme! I didn't mean to scare him that bad." The raven simply rolled his onyx eyes at the blond before bending down to hand Gaara his schoolbag.

"I apologize for Naruto's behavior. I'm Sasuke, nice to meet you." He gave him a small smile as he took his schoolbag back.

"Thank you. I'm Gaara." Sasuke nodded his head at him and looked away.

"Cool! Say, what's the hat for?" Gaara blanched at the question, a hand going up to his head defensively. Fortunately he was saved by another boy who looked to be about as loud and rambunctious as Naruto.

"I can't believe you ditched us! Why'd ya come over here anyways?" Naruto pointed at Gaara, who fought the urge to bat at the appendage.

"I came over to talk to him. His name's Gaara." The new boy seemed to study Gaara, his head tilted to the side in a canine-like manner. Gaara, uncomfortable under the heavy scrutiny, glared at him.

"Doesn't look very friendly." Sasuke rolled his eyes again, shaking his head.

"He probably doesn't like being stared at dog-breath." Now it was Gaara's turn to tilt his head to the side at the strange nickname.

"What'd ya call me princess?" He took up a fighting pose as he glared at Sasuke, whose posture had gone stiff as he glared right back.

"Stop while you're ahead mutt." He growled low at Sasuke and would've jumped him if a hand on his chest hadn't prevented him from doing so. They all glanced at it's owner as the opposite hand went in front of Sasuke to stop any potential movement.

"Stop it Kiba, you shouldn't be fighting on the first day of school. Stop egging him on Sasuke, you should know better." Both of them glared at the newcomer, a bored looking boy with a ponytail high in the top of his head.

"Damn it!" Everyone's head snapped around to Naruto, who was marching up to a surprised Sasuke, poking him in the chest.

"You promised you wouldn't pick fights with my friends this year Teme!" Naruto said as he roughly pushed Sasuke out of the way, running off into the school. Gaara heard Sasuke curse before he jogged after him. Gaara looked at the new boy, obviously confused. He looked over and saw this, sighing while bringing up a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

"Troublesome." He shoved his hands in his pockets, tilting his head back to stare at the sky.

"Just ignore them, they fight every once in a while. They always get over it though." Gaara simply stood there and nodded. The lazy boy sighed again, knowing his job wasn't done.

"Oi, Kiba. Didn't Shino want to see you before school started?" The brunette seemed to brighten considerably at the reminder, completely forgetting about the almost-fight he'd had with Sasuke just moments before.

"Oh yeah! See ya!" Shikamaru shook his head at how energetic all his friends could be.

"What was that?" Shikamaru sent another glance to the red head, almost laughing at the confusion in his eyes.

"That was normal. Welcome to your first day at school."