AN: This takes place 6 months before Gaara's kills his Uncle.
Sabaku no Gaara was labeled a monster by the adults of Sunagakure since the day he was born. Therefore, it made sense for the children of Suna to follow the terrible example their parents had set for them and treat him in the same way.
One could then understand the shock the young boy felt one calm sunny day, when he felt a small tap on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, I was wondering if I could have a turn on the swing." A small high-pitched voice said from behind him.
Sea-foam green eyes widened as the young boy turned around in his seat to see a girl roughly his age standing there fidgeting nervously.
Studying the girl, he saw that she had chocolate brown hair that was braided into pigtails, lightly tan skin, and clear blue eyes that seemed to be hazed over and unfocused.
An awkward silence passed between the two children, before the girl said, "Well are you gonna answer?"
Gaara stared at the girl a moment or two more, before quietly asking, "Don't you know who I am?"
"No should I?" The girl retorted, her eyebrows furrowed as she spoke.
"Well everyone else does. The people of Suna normally stay away from me and don't talk to me, but when they do, they call me a monster…" Gaara whispered trailing off, as sadness filled his eyes.
The girl stood there thinking for a second, before her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Oh! You must be Sabaku no Gaara! You're the Kazekage's son! I've heard lots of stories about you from my Kaa-San. Though I don't think you sound as scary as she said you would."
Gaara gazed at the girl with a puzzled expression before he said, "She said I'd sound scary? Don't you mean she said I'd look scary?"
The girl giggled delightedly, while saying, "No silly! I meant sound. It wouldn't matter what you look like because I can't see."
"What do you mean you can't see?" Gaara queried.
"I mean I'm blind! Duh!" The girl said exasperated.
Gaara's eyes widened as everything about this strange girl finally made sense.
No wonder her eyes aren't really focused on anything and she wasn't afraid of me when we first spoke! Gaara thought in astonishment.
"Hey, you still never answered my question Gaara-Sama!" The girl whined, tearing Gaara from his thoughts.
"Huh?" Gaara responded.
"Ugh! I wanted to know if I could swing on the swing!" The girl huffed.
Gaara blinked twice at the girl before saying, "So, you're really not afraid of me."
"Of course I'm not." The girl said nonchalantly.
"Why?" Gaara asked?
"Why should I be afraid of someone or something I can't see?" The girl replied. "Besides you don't sound scary or mean or like a bad person. Trust me, I would know if you did."
A small smile spread across Gaara's lips as he whispered a thank you to the girl.
He then saw a smile stretch across her face, then as if she thought of something truly genius, the girl shouted, "Hey Gaara-Sama, I have a wonderful idea! How 'bout we be friends!"
Shock covered Gaara's face and he was silent for two reasons:
1) Someone actually spoke kind words to him for once in his life.
2) This same person actually wanted to be his friend.
"Gaara-Sama, are you gonna give me an answer or not?" The young girl asked impatiently, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yes!" Gaara yelled a little to anxiously. "I-I mean y-yeah."
A smile tugged on the girl's lips as she said, "Good, then that we have to play together every day. Now, I actually have to go home. It's almost time for me to eat lunch."
The girl turned around and started walking away. That is until Gaara stood up from his swing, running after the girl, saying, "Wait! I remembered I don't know your name."
The girl turned around saying, "Took ya long enough to ask. My name is Kaida Lau."
"Kaida," Gaara said, seeing how the name flowed off of his tongue. "Got it. Are you gonna be out later Kaida…"
"Chan. Kaida-Chan. And yes, I'll be back out after I eat." Kaida responded.
With that, Kaida turned back around, running swiftly back to her house. Gaara on the other hand returned to his swing. A small smile graced his lips, as he sat down, and thought, Maybe I won't be as lonely as I thought.
Gaara sat quietly behind his desk in the Kazekage office. A small smile perched on his lips as he thought back to the first time he met Kaida Lau. A noise from outside his office window, however; brought him from his reminiscing.
"Gaara-Kun!" A soothing voice yelled. "Gaara-Kun!"
Standing up, Gaara walked over to his window, opened it up, and stuck his head outside to see just the person he was thinking about. Though quite a lot had changed about her over the years.
Kaida's facial features were sharper and more pronounced. Her hair had grown significantly and was left to fall freely down her back. Her personality even toned down a bit too. Not much, but just enough so that she wasn't as hyper active as she used to be. Though the one thing that did not change about her was her hazed over blue eyes still could not see anything.
"Kaida-Chan, if you want to talk, come to my office." Gaara responded to her, before shutting his window.
Not even five minutes later, Gaara's office door flew opened, and a very irritated blind kunochi stood in his office.
"Gaara-Kun, what's taking you so long? You promised that you would come with me to meet my team today, and I waited for awhile, but now we're almost fifteen minutes late!" Kaida said in a semi-irritated tone.
"I'm sorry Kaida-Chan. It's just… I got caught up in something." Gaara said apologetically.
Kaida sighed before saying, "No Gaara, I'm sorry. I know you're really busy. It's just well…"
"You don't like to lie to your team." Gaara said, as he walked in front of Kaida and gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand.
Kaida blushed lightly at the contact, which made Gaara smile even more. Ever since he came back from the Chunin Exams, Gaara and Kaida had been experimenting with how far the boundaries of their relationship went. They weren't exactly a couple, but they were more than just friends, so neither one knew what type of contact was exactly appropriate.
"Y-yeah. You're right." Kaida said shakily. "B-but if you have to do s-some more work I-I can…"
Gaara put a finger on Kaida's lips and said, "I was actually just finished with work and getting ready to meet with you Kaida-Chan. I just started thinking about something is all."
"Oh! What were you thinking about?" Kaida asked eagerly.
"The day we met." Gaara responded, taking off the formal Kazekage robe to reveal his normal ninja attire.
Kaida laughed whimsically, and the sound made Gaara smile, as she said, "I remember that. We had a whole conversation without you even knowing my name."
"I never answered your question either." Gaara said.
"No you didn't." Kaida said smirking, as she slipped her hand in Gaara's. "Now come on, we're late to meet the team, and I already know they're going to give me an earful for it!"
Without another word, Gaara and Kaida casually made their way out of the Kazekage building to meet with Kaida's team. Both of them thinking about days when they were little and how much closer they had become to that day.
So yeah I know the ending sucks. However, I wanted to get this part done so I could post it. I like the rest of it and though it was fun to write. Sorry if Gaara was a bit OOC. Also I know Kaida may seem a bit pushy or whatever, but I was really just trying to show a different more playful (I don't know if that's the word I'm looking for) side to her. She has a lot of layers and stuff that will come to pass.
Please review and I am open to people PMing me with an idea, or something you would like to see pass between Gaara and Kaida. Remember if you don't like it don't read it.
Ciao
Aya!