"Hate, sadness, and even joy… To be able to share it with another person… From fighting with him… I learned that. He knew pain like I did. And then, he taught me that you can change that path. I wish one day, that I can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon. But as the Sand's Kazekage."
--Sabaku no Gaara
"...Naruto?" He muttered, blinking.
"It's good to see you again!" The blonde said cheerily, approaching him and hugging him. Gaara only stood there until the man pulled away. "How are you, Gaara?"
"I'm fine, but.. What are you doing here?" Gaara asked.
"To see you of course!" Naruto said, grinning. "Of course, I do have a mission and everything."
"Well, what is it?" Gaara looked at him, blinking.
"Well, I can't give extreme details, but rumors are that the Akatsuki are planning something again, and I was sent here to keep an eye on things." Naruto winked at them.
"How long are you going to stay?" Temari asked.
"I'm not sure. Until Granny Tsunade calls me back, I guess. She didn't tell me." Naruto shrugged.
"Temari, prepare him a room." Gaara said quietly, before brushing past them towards his desk. Temari nodded, before motioning for Naruto to follow her. They left the room, closing the door behind them. Gaara sat at his desk, pulling a pile of paperwork towards him. He grabbed his pen and set to work.
On through the night he worked, finally finishing the last stack by dawn. He sighed, sitting back in his chair. He rolled his eyes, knowing there'd only be more by the time Temari woke up and brought him his morning coffee. His thoughts travelled to Konoha. Had they gotten the message yet? He was slightly more hurried, hoping they'd send the pink-haired kunoichi as soon as they'd gotten. He now wished he'd put an "ASAP" at the bottom of his letter. The rumors that the Akatsuki was on the move again worried him, and without the powers of the Shukaku in his current state, he knew he wouldn't be able to take on that blonde-headed man again. He'd defeated him even with the Shukaku, and he knew he wouldn't be able to take him on now. He didn't give the medic they would be sending a second thought. He really didn't know her. He remembered when the Sand had made an alliance with Sound at the Chunin exams, and Gaara had fled with Kankuro and Temari after his battle with Sasuke Uchiha. She had arrived to protect Sasuke, and only ended up getting in the way. He scoffed at the memory.
But recently, when he had died at the hands of previously mentioned Akatsuki, he remembered seeing her face when he awoke. He thought he was looking at an angel, that he was still dead and she was the messenger from God welcoming him to heaven. He remembered quickly dismissing that thought, as when he died, he'd been at the gates of hell. He scoffed at Satan, and faced the black demons squawking and laughing impishly. He'd defeated hordes and hordes of them, and still they came on in endless waves. The extreme heat from the hot fires surrounding him made him break into a sweat and he punched and kicked one after the other, making it disappear into ash. He felt helpless as they kept coming, exhasperated and agitated at the sounds of Satan laughing at him. He muttered curse after curse, snarling as the sweat poured off of him in streams. He felt like he was falling into a black abyss, a bottomless trench of no return.
And then opening his eyes and seeing the life-filled emerald eyes of that woman immediately soothed his pounding, fearful heart and calmed him. Was it all a dream? He knew it wasn't, for it was too real for that. The devilish, smirking faces of the dead returned to his mind, and he shuddered.
He shook his head, ridding his mind of hell, Sakura, and what happened after he returned to the land of the living. It took him a moment to realize that Temari was now standing there, holding his steaming coffee. He opened his eyes, taking her in. "Gomen," He said, in a cracked voice. He cleared his throat.
"It's alright. I haven't seen you this uncomposed in a while. Are you alright?" She asked, setting his coffee down on his desk.
He took the coffee, holding the steaming mug in his hands. "Yeah," He muttered. After taking a long sip, he said quietly, "I was just thinking about things."
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked gently, sitting in a chair.
Now, normally Gaara would spit at the idea of confiding in anyone. But this time.. He needed to get it off his chest. He felt like he needed to talk about it with someone, or it'd just grow inside him and swallow him up. He nodded slowly, before saying, "…It was when I died."
Temari's eyes widened a bit, before she nodded. "What happened? Was it bad?"
Gaara set his mug down in front of him, staring down at his reflection in the black liquid the mug contained. "…I was at the gates of hell." He murmured.
Temari's eyes widened again. She leaned forward in her chair, interested. "..And?"
"Demon after demon… I fought them. Satan laughed at me... I panicked. I felt like I was being swallowed up in a black pit, and I was sweating a waterfall from the heat of the fire surrounding me… I felt so helpless… It scared me. I'd never felt helpless before. It's like…" Gaara looked at her, face showing the slightest sign of fear. "…I was in torture… Endless torture.."
Temari's eyes squinted in sympathy. "Gaara.." She murmured. "I know how hard it is for you. I know what pain you've went through. I've never experienced the same pain, but I've been there… The whole time. I've been there."
He looked down.
"Gaara, I've always loved you." Temari smiled. "From the very beginning. You're my little brother, and from the beginning, no matter what you said to me or acted like, I've loved you."
"…Thank you, Temari." He looked at her, the lightest hint of a smile on his face. "I feel better now."
"Good." Temari grinned, standing from her chair. "May I leave? I have a mission."
"Of course." He nodded. "Good luck."
"Arigatou, Gaara-sama." She smiled, before disappearing with a poof.
Gaara sighed, running a hand through his hair as he picked up his coffee mug and took another sip. He growled when he found another pile of paperwork on his desk. How the hell did it get there? He didn't see Temari touch any paperwork, she didn't have it when she came in. He growled in frustration, hating the thought of more paperwork. He looked out the window, wanting to find an excuse to put off the damned paperwork. His eyes lit up in recognition when he saw the little boy from the day before. He was sitting and watching the other children play. Gaara decided to approach him. Despite his reluctance in forming bonds with others, he felt a connection with the boy. He supposed he understood him, in a way others couldn't.
Gaara left the Kazekage's office, traversing the streets. His eyes roamed over the people bustling about the sandy roads, looking for that boy with the tousled black hair and the dull grey eyes. As soon as he spotted him, he approached the boy. The kid was sitting atop a small hill next to one of the shops, looking at all the people travelling to and fro. As soon as Gaara sat down beside him, the boy looked at him, surprised. When he saw the man his face lit up and he smiled brightly at him. After studying the boy for a moment, Gaara looked ahead, at everyone. "Hey," He said quietly.
The boy turned his attention to the villagers as well, before saying a small, "Hey."
"Why don't you play with the others..?" Gaara asked quietly, legs bent at the knee and pulled to his chest. The boy was in the same position, sucking his thumb as his arm draped over his knee.
"I'm not like them." The boy said quietly, lifeless grey eyes peering at them, gazing at the children with longing and a hint of jealousy. Gaara peered at him and saw those eyes.
'Just like me..' He thought bitterly. 'What should I do?'
Finally, the Kazekage looked at the boy. "I have a question for you, Tamru." He said quietly.
The boy turned to him, cocking his head to the side in a question.
"…Have you ever wanted to be a shinobi?" He looked at the boy intently.
Tamru's face lit up in joy as he nodded furiously. "It's always been my dream to become a shinobi!" He squealed.
Gaara hinted a smile. "Would you like to become one..?"
The boy nodded again, shifting from his sitting position in excitement.
"Well," Gaara grunted, standing to his feet and brushing himself off. "As of today… You are my apprentice." He held out a hand to the boy. The raven-headed kid took the hand, grinning brightly.
"You really mean it, Kazekage-sama?" He shivered in excitement.
"Of course." Gaara said softly. "And from now on, call me Gaara-sama."
"Alriiiiiight!" Tamru pumped a fist in the air, grinning. Gaara smiled lightly, the boy reminding him of Naruto. "I'm gonna be a ninja! Sweeeet!" He squealed.
"First thing," Gaara said, looking at him. "Shinobi don't squeal."
"Gomen!" He smiled sheepishly.
"Come with me." Gaara said, grunting as he picked the boy up. He lifted the kid over him, setting him to sit on his shoulders. Everyone stopped to turn and stared at them as Gaara began walking the streets with Tamru riding on his shoulders. Many of the women swooned over the adorable sight, and men stared at him, hearts swelling. Many had grown more faithful in the Kazekage. Since when had he ever given children piggy-back rides? This had proved that the man had changed, and was continuing to do so.
xXx
"Wow, Gaara-sensei!" Tamru breathed, looking down at his new apparel. It was almost an exact replica of the outfit Gaara wore when he was a genin, at the Chunin exams(with the exception of the gourd of course). "It's awesome! Thank you so much!" He hugged the man tightly, and Gaara only stood there.
"It's alright, Tamru." Gaara said. "Now, who are your parents..?"
Tamru's face fell. "I… I don't have any parents." He looked at the ground, face squinched into one of emotional pain.
Gaara's eyes widened a bit. He kneeled down, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Where do you live?"
"Wherever I can," He shrugged dejectedly. "I live on the streets if I have to.."
Gaara looked at the floor, before looking back up at him. "Well…" He said, after a moment. "You have a new home, now."
Tamru's face lit up. "Really?!" He asked excitedly.
Gaara gave him a small smile. "Of course. That is, if you want."
"Yes, yes I want to stay here!" Tamru yelled, throwing his arms about Gaara's neck and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Gaara-sensei..!" He cried.
Gaara sighed, lightly patting the boy on the back. "It's alright, it's alright." He said softly.
xXx
Sakura knocked on the door of the Hokage's office, desperately hoping her teacher wasn't drunk again. "…Shishou?" She called lightly.
"Enter." She heard, and by the tone of the blonde's voice, Sakura surmised she was sober. She opened the door, entering the room.
"You needed me?" She raised a pink eyebrow, approaching the desk the Hokage sat at.
"Yes," Tsunade smiled at her. "You have a mission."
"What is it?" Sakura asked, putting a hand on her hip as she leaned into it.
"You are to go to Suna." Tsunade said, sifting through some papers. "The Kazekage requires your presence."
"G-Gaara?" Sakura blinked, surprised. 'What would he need me for?' She thought.
"Yes, Gaara-sama requests your presence in Suna. It doesn't say for how long. I suppose it'll be a few days or more, for what he needs you for. So, pack some clothes."
"Why does he need me?" Sakura asked incredulously. 'Gaara, of all people…? Needing me?'
"He requires your presence, so you can train him in the ways of Genjutsu. You are, after all, Konoha's most talented in the Genjutsu area." Tsunade gave her a knowing smile.
"I suppose," Sakura said, turning her head to the side. "But I don't get why it's me."
"Well, there isn't anyone in Suna talented enough to teach the Kazekage." Tsunade chuckled. "Maybe he deems you worthy. You should be honored, frankly."
However, Sakura was quite the opposite. She was not honored, and she didn't want to go. Although the man had changed since the Chunin exams, she was still wary of him, and she didn't want to have to talk to him any more than necessary.
"I don't know, Shishou.." Sakura muttered, shaking her head.
"Come on, Sakura. He's changed, and you know it. It would be a good experience for you. Remember how you wanted your own team of genin?This would be good practice for your teaching skills."
"Fine, fine. I'll do it.." Sakura muttered, turning and leaving out the door.
"Good. Set out immediately," Tsunade called after her.
'Who knows,' Sakura thought as she headed towards her apartment in the middle-class section of Konoha. 'Maybe he has changed more than I thought. Maybe this won't be so bad.'
