Hello, everyone! Time for me to keep my word! I said I would write a GaaMatsu fic and I am and here it is and I didn't lie and I know you want to read it! Thank you if you do! Peace out, my peeps!
Everyone said he was a monster. They had called him a disgrace. A stain on society. The people often wondered why they kept him alive. He was cruel and showed no mercy. And yet he was determined to change all that. He'd had enough of all the unapproving scowls, the persistent insults, the unruly townsfolk. But instead of using anger and evil to seek vengeance, he was determined to use more kind and friendly matters. And he had that one blonde ninja from Konoha, the very village they attacked earlier in the year. He'd actually been beaten. Gaara of the desert owed his change of lifestyle all to Naruto Uzumaki.
Gaara was up on the roof of the Kazekage tower. He never slept; Shukaku wouldn't let him. He knew what would happen if he every fell asleep. Although, the more he thought about it, the droopier his eyes felt. He snapped out of it and decided to take a walk.
He started thinking about his fight with Seimei and how powerful he was. And a certain student of his came to his mind. 'Matsuri...' She was scared of weapons, until Gaara straightened her out. He thought about how she was the only girl besides his sister that ever acknowledged him as a person instead of a freak of nature. She had something about her that only she had. He'd never felt this connection with Temari before so he didn't know anything about this feeling.
The wind picked up a bit as he kept walking. No lights were on in any buildings. The sand lightly beat against his face. He kept walking until he reached Training Ground #7 where he would train Matsuri to be a top rate ninja.
'Matsuri is close to my age. Why do I need to train her so late in her life? And the real question is why did she choose me as her sensei?' All these and more questions kept floating around in his mind. He set his gourd down and waited there in silence until the sun began to peek over the horizon.
He picked up his gourd and began to walk back to his spot on the roof of the Kazekage tower. He remembered how Orochimaru murdered his father before the attack on Konoha. Even though he changed his personality for the better, he still showed no sign of sadness at the death of his father. His father had hated him, at least, that's what Gaara thought. Or possibly because they were preparing him. Getting him ready to use. Like a weapon that is put up until a dire situation arises. His anger rose. He clenched his fist, the sand around him swirling. Once again, Matsuri popped into his mind. His anger subsided instantly. Every time he thought of her, it made him sad. She had witnessed her own parents death; they'd been slaughtered by all kinds of weapons, causing her fear of them. He had rid her of those fears to such a degree that she now had one of her own. Her johyo had been a wise choice for her. She could almost tie up Gaara herself. Almost.
The towns people that had jobs requiring them to wake up early were up and about doing their duties. Gaara saw them and thought, 'those people down there. I need to prove to all of them that I am not a monster.'
He noticed the time and realized if he didn't go to the trainging ground now, Matsuri would beat him there. He picked up his gourd and leaped off the building back the way he'd came. The wind was at a light breeze pace, perfect for teaching. If he kept it up, he'd surely beat Matsuri, but to his surprise, the same time he arrived, Matsuri was running up there too. 'Great minds think alike.'
"Morning, Gaara-sensei."
"Morning."
"So what are we doing today?"
"Training. I am going to teach you the art of stealth."
"Stealth? But Gaara-sensei you never use stealth."
"Just because I am confident in my strength doesn't mean I never have need for stealth. Now then, are we gonna chat or are we here to train?"
"Train, Gaara-sensei."
Hours had passed. Gaara was hiding and Matsuri was supposed to catch him before he attacked. She had her johyo ready. A bead of sweat dripped down her neck like a tired warrior going down a hill. She was tired, but didn't show it. Her muscles were surely going to be overworked by the end of their training session. Focus shown in her with extreme concentration. She looked around, eyes quickly darting from one position to another. She heard it! A swoosh of sand. She sprang up and faced the opposite direction. Gaara shot up in the air on a platform of sand. He sent a projectile of sand her way. She dodged it. She flung a kunai in his direction. He caught it like it was nothing. The platform of sand surrounded his body and crashed back to the ground, Gaara disappearing. Matsuri took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, taking some shuriken in each hand. The wind blew steadily in her ears. The sand behind her moved. She faced it, but didn't throw her shuriken or open her eyes. Suddenly, a hand came out from under her! It grabbed her ankle and began to pull her under. She took one of the shuriken and stabbed the hand, red blood oozing out the cut. The hand jumped up and became an arm, Gaara's arm. He flew out of the sand and sent a storm of sand projectiles flying at Matsuri. She whipped out her johyo and began to knock away this and that projectile. One collided with her knee, causing her to fall. Gaara jumped up and, with the kunai Matsuri had thrown earlier, he thrusted downward. Matsuri closed her eyes. She opened them nervously to see the kunai centimeters away from her throat.
"Good. You need improvement, but that wasn't half bad for the first time." He offered his hand which Matsuri gladly took. They held hands for a moment longer before letting go. "Matsuri, I have something to ask?"
Matsuri dusted herself of and said, "Yes, Gaara-sensei?"
Gaara turned around and sat on a bench at the edge of the training ground, gesturing for Matsuri to sit beside him. She did as instructed and sat. "When my siblings and I were chosen to take in some students, all of the other ones chose either Temari or Kankuro." He turned and looked at her. "All but you. Why did you choose me, Matsuri?"
Matsuri blushed at Gaara's intense gaze. She fixated her own gaze into Gaara's eyes. 'Oh, his eyes are beautiful.' She shunned herself for thinking that way. "Well, I...don't really know. I saw all the other kids joining your brother or sister and saw none of them joining you. I guess I felt sorry for you." She broke the gaze and looked down at the sand. "I had heard about how you were supposed to be evil and a monster, but when I looked you, I just couldn't imagine it." She reached over and touched his hand. "And since I've spent so much time with you, I definitely can't imagine such a thing. You're just so kind and caring and sweet and cute and..." She stopped and realized what she'd just said. She withdrew her hand and stood up.
"Matsuri?"
"I'm sorry Gaara-sensei. If today's training is done, I got some things to do."
"It is. You may leave. See you tomorrow, Matsuri." She turned around and was about to run off in shame, but before she did, Gaara said something to her. "And Matsuri." She stopped and turned around. "You are cute as well." He smiled a tiny little smile and picked up his gourd. He walked off, leaving a stunned and speechless Matsuri to blush by herself.