AN: Here we go! Chapter 2! A special thanks to Lavendor Queen, our first follower, as well as FearaNightmare, kiyone110, and Jest'lyn Tal. Also Kimera225 for favoriting.

Kunoichi:: On with mah story!

Magicmuggle:: Excuse me? YOUR story?

Kunoichi:: Uhhhh... Our story! On with OUR story!

Magicmuggle:: *mumbles* That's what I thought...

Kunoichi:: We don't own Naruto, we just obsessively collect his merchandise!

Magicmuggle:: *sweatdrops* Um, I'm pretty sure that's just you...

Chapter Two

"Kazekage-sama!"
Gaara reflexively turned to look for his father. Even though it had been seven years since the former Kazekage's death, his presence still lurked in the back of Gaara's mind, seizing any opportunity to remind Gaara of his dark past. Shaking his thoughts from the morbid direction they were taking, Gaara attempted to locate the owner of the voice, his eyes squinting slightly in the harsh glare of the desert sun. He scanned the crowded marketplace, with its bustling horde of people and plethora of commodities that bombarded every sense, each stall competing to capture the consumer's attention. Had he been a more expressive person, a contented smirk would have decorated his shockingly pale face, for he couldn't help the feeling of pride that bubbled inside him as he watched the citizens in their daily lives. Despite the harsh climate, the nation of Suna thrived; they had always been resilient people, facing more than their fair share of hardships even before the Great War. And the Fourth Great Ninja War had left much chaos in its wake.

Before Team 7, with the help of the past Kages, could manage to extract the Juubi from Obito and use the Tailed Beasts' powers to defeat Madara, the two Uchiha had already created a large path of destruction, leaving marks that would take not only the people, but also the land many years to heal. However, faced with the harsh reality of the damages of the war, the hardened inhabitants of the Hidden Sand proved themselves once again, quickly rebuilding from the widespread desolation and re-establishing the village as one of the great powers of the shinobi world. Unlike other villages, which were still struggling for normalcy in the war's aftermath, Suna had achieved internal peace and stability within these few years following the battle, even if this stability didn't exist too far past the great walls of the city.

Watching a silk merchant dressed in vibrant colors, his fists waving animatedly in the air as he bartered with a customer, and smelling the pungent aroma of various spices and incenses wafting from a nearby perfume stall, it was not hard to see the general prosperity that the citizens of Suna had the fortune to live in. And it's my job as Kazekage to ensure the continued success of my people. Gaara thought, as his eyes finished roaming the crowd, unsuccessful in detecting the voice's owner, while he continuously dipped his crimson head in acknowledgement to those respectfully bowing as they passed him in the congested street. He turned to his sister, Temari, to see if she had located his caller, but she merely met his questioning glance and shrugged, her blond, spiky hair bobbing as she completed the gesture.

Twisting to face forward again, Gaara began to continue his leisurely stroll through the bazaar, but a small tug on the lower part of his robes stopped him. Looking down, Gaara was met by a pair of huge, chocolate brown eyes eagerly staring up at him. Having grabbed the young leader's attention, the small girl shyly stepped back from him, her short burst of confidence gone as she faced his sea green eyes. Gazing at the ground with a newfound interest, she began to toe the sand at her feet, her small arms hidden behind her back.

"K-kazekage-sama… I…I made you something!" With these words, the little girl hastily brought her hands out from behind her, shoving an object into Gaara's face. Leaning back, Gaara examined the present. A flower…? Further inspection disproved that idea, as he stared at pieces of golden paper folded around a brown, central point at the end of a slender cylinder of wood.
"It's a pinwheel. See?" Yanking back the gift, she began to heartily blow, attempting to move the object's crudely made wheels. After several fruitless attempts, she abandoned the action and handed the toy out to him, her wide eyes watching him, anticipating his reaction.

"Thank you." He plucked the pinwheel from her grasp, appreciating the obvious work and love that the girl's chubby fingers had put into creating this gift. "It's beautiful…just like a sunflower." He gazed at the craft, a small, rare smile teasing his lips. Suddenly, two small arms wrapped around his leg, as the little girl happily pressed her face and body into his robes. Eyes widening, Gaara stared down in confusion at the brave child who had just decided to give the Kazekage, one of the most powerful men in the world, an enthusiastic hug. The visage of dark hair and pale eyes abruptly flashed across his mind, but he quickly stifled these images, fearing that another gruesome memory had been awakened somehow. Awkwardly patting the girl's head, Gaara turned his panicked green eyes toward Temari, silently sending a plea for help. While he had changed long ago, deciding to work for the love and trust of his villagers, the prior years of neglect and hate had not been kind to his social skills, and he still did not know how to react to many situations.

Thankfully, Temari noticed his discomfort. "Hey, kid. Thanks for the gift. It's really special and all that," she couldn't help but smirk, watching this gutsy kid hugging her now beet red brother, "Now run along, the Kazekage still has important stuff to do."
Stepping back once again, the little girl nodded, a large grin plastered to her face. "Bye, Kazekage-sama!" Giving them a small wave, she promptly skipped off, soon disappearing into the crowded market. After losing sight of the child, Temari turned back to her baby brother, who was still frozen in place, but now staring at the sky, an unreadable expression on his face. Glancing up, she noticed an indistinct smudge headed for the Kazekage Tower. A messenger hawk…I wonder what's up… Opening her mouth to ask Gaara if he knew, she returned her gaze back to empty air, a few grains of sand still swirling around from the Kazekage's hasty exit. I hope nothing's wrong… Temari thought, a foreboding feeling in her gut as she sent a furtive look back at the tower, before immersing herself in the mass of citizens.

Gaara let the door to his office fall shut behind him, crossing the room in quick strides. Placing the pinwheel in the pencil holder on his desk, he made his way to the bird of prey impatiently tapping on his window. Sliding the glass open, he slipped the scroll off its scrawny leg before releasing it to go rest at the Communication Tower's aerie. Shutting the window, Gaara paced in front of his desk, contemplating the small document in his hands. A red seal…this is bad… Each message delivered between villages followed a color system, from blue seals for regular updates to red, indicating tragedies, threats, or other events of important notice. Gaara prepared himself for the worst, taking a seat in the chair behind the table. Unsealing the scroll, he opened it and spread it out flat against his desk, quickly skimming the letter's contents:

Hey Gaara,
I know this should be formal and all, but I just can't do it, not this time. Yesterday, one of my most elite ninja, and one of my best friends on top of that, was killed in combat. I don't know if you knew her, but her name was Hyuuga Hinata, heiress of the Hyuuga clan. She was one of the sweetest, most humble people I have ever met, and writing the details of her death sends a stab of pain through me with every word…so I'll make this as brief as possible, if only for the sake of staying somewhat professional… Based on the report, a group of rogue nin attacked her and Aburame Shino on their way home from an escort mission to the Hidden Mist. Leaving Shino for dead, they pursued Hinata to the edge of a ravine on the border between your village and the Hidden Mist's territories. While we were able to recover Aburame Shino, who is now in our critical care unit, we were not lucky enough to save Hinata. To prevent the group from capturing her, she set an explosive trap, destroying her pursuers and herself. Our sources informed us that there was another group, possibly allies to the attackers, who reached the scene before us and then apparently left without disturbing anything. My ninja say that they were headed in the direction of Suna. Please be on full alert…I don't want to lose anyone else to these monsters. Maybe with the combined efforts of our villages, we will be able to capture these ninja and make them pay for their crimes…I'm telling you this not just as a fellow Kage, but also as a friend grieving over a fallen comrade.
Sincerely and Sadly,
Naruto

As he read this, Gaara's breath caught in his throat. While Naruto's bubbly personality could never be hidden, even in his "professional" letters, the blond Jinchuuriki's hyperactive personality seemed particularly subdued in this note, much more formal than usual as a result of his grief. Gaara could feel his friend's pain through this letter, could imagine the tears he held back as his pen scratched across the document's rough surface. The redhead sat back in his chair, eyes shifting from the paper to the pinwheel lying on the corner of his desk. Hinata…that sounds so familiar… Picking the pinwheel up, he lightly traced its contours as he contemplated the news. If these rogues had managed to take out a Hyuuga AND an Aburame, both from clans renowned for their prowess as shinobi, then these weren't just some ragtag bunch of troublemakers. No. This was a well-organized attack, its skill and efficiency nearly rivaling that of an Anbu team. And just like the Anbu, the group had apparently left nearly no leads to follow, an impressive feat considering its disastrous failure to complete its objective. The possibility of such a threat entering his territory worried him. Gaara knew he had a capable ninja force, but so did Konoha, and look at what happened to them. Maybe I will send Temari and Kankuro to handle this…I'd rather use their talent for other missions, but the village's safety comes first, and always will…What a drag… Gaara nearly smirked, belatedly realizing his resemblance to the certain Leaf lazybones who held his sister's heart.

His good humor quickly disappeared when a stab of pain lanced through his head. Rubbing his temple with his free hand, Gaara left out a sigh of frustration. Even with Shukaku gone, he still suffered from frequent migraines, often elicited by the stresses of being the Kazekage. This new problem seemed to have triggered a particularly nasty one. Desiring to prevent its full arrival, Gaara focused on the toy in his hand. Tapping its petal-like extensions, he watched as the pinwheel came to life, its bright edges blurring as they danced around the chocolate center, making the plaything appear even more like a sunflower. As he stared at the floral contraption, the images of midnight colored hair and eyes like pearls once again played at the corner of his mind. Intrigued by the sudden feeling of nostalgia washing over him, Gaara closed his eyes and probed into his brain, hoping that the memory he was about to immerse himself in would be peaceful and help him escape from his current troubles, if only for a minute.

Feeling the carriage come to a stop, Gaara glanced up from his teddy bear to his father next to him, wanting to ask his father if they had arrived, but knowing better than to speak unless spoken to. Ignoring the questioning look on his youngest son's face, the Kazekage stood up, motioning for the vehicle's other occupants, a young girl with two blond spiky pigtails, and a younger boy playing with a small puppet, to do the same. Gaara followed his father and siblings through the carriage door, squinting against the glare of the midday sun that greeted him as he stepped out of the shadowed compartment. His wandering gaze was met by an intimidating sight: a large, crimson gate, at least several stories tall, surrounded by various shades of green plants, a crowd of people gathered at its foot. Having only known the harsh browns of the desert, Gaara was slightly overwhelmed by the abundant foliage and the multitude of colors it provided, and he had to resist hiding behind his father's robes, knowing the man would disapprove of such a display of weakness, even from a young boy.

"Kazekage-sama, how good it is that you have arrived safely after such a long journey." A wizened old man with a hat like the Kazekage's stepped forward to greet Gaara's father, his movements surprisingly fluid for a man his age.

"Ah, yes. The ride was uneventful, so it is pleasing to have finally our destination. Your village looks…well, Hokage-sama." The Kazekage ran an appraising glance over the mass assembled in front of him as he responded to the ancient leader.

"Thank you, you look well also." If the old man sensed the Kazekage's disdain, he did not show it. "And I assume these are your children?" The head of Konoha nodded at each of Gaara's siblings, who returned the gesture, before resting his curious gaze on Gaara.

"Yes. This is Temari," The teal-eyed girl stepped forward, her haughty gaze scanning the crowd while she bowed to the Hokage, "Kankuro," the older Subaku boy broke into a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head with one hand while giving a small wave with the other, "And…Gaara." Gaara stood timidly peering up at the old man, unsure of what to do.

The Hokage's face crinkled into a kind smile as he observed the boy's nervous appearance. "What a beautiful family. You must be proud." The Kazekage tensed at these words, tersely nodding in response to the old man's compliment. "Now, I will introduce you to the heads of Konoha's shinobi clans. Do not be afraid to ask anything of them during your stay here. They would be more than happy to accommodate any of your needs…The Uchiha clan, head, Fugaku…"

Gaara watched as a dark haired family stepped forward, the father bowing to the Kazekage as his wife and children observed. Gaara noticed one of the boys to be around his age, a skinny kid with dark eyes and hair resembling a duck's butt, and he eagerly awaited the other boy's eyes to fall on him. However, in response to Gaara's friendly stare, the Uchiha boy's onyx eyes slightly narrowed. He grabbed his older brother, who was looking at Gaara, an unreadable expression on his lined face, and the family soon stepped back to return to their place in the crowd. Abashed by the harsh reaction, Gaara's eyes sank to the ground, where he contented himself by watching the feet of the different clans that came forward to greet the Sabaku family.

"The Hyuuga clan, head, Hiashi…" Gaze still focused on the ground, Gaara scrutinized the shoes now in front of him. Even though he only saw the man's feet, Gaara knew he must be a man of much power, for he sensed the pride and authority radiating from him. Suddenly, Gaara noticed a small foot inching out from behind the man. Eyes widening, Gaara lifted his stare from the dirt, only to be met by a pair of large, pale eyes peeping out from behind a leg. Having been caught in the redhaired boy's sea green gaze, a girl around his age shrank behind her father even more, a deep blush rising to her cheeks. Finding no threat in the boy's curious eyes, she tentatively stepped out, shuffling forward until she was in front of Gaara, her hands shyly hidden behind her back as she returned his stare.

"K-konnichiwa…" The girl stuttered, her indigo bangs sweeping into her eyes as she ducked her head. Gaara stared at her, unsure of how to respond. He had never been spoken to, much less addressed first by the children of his village. Any minute now, he expected her to run away, screaming about his monstrosity. However, she stayed rooted where she was, her short hair shifting slightly in the breeze. "My f-father told me t-that the Kazekage h-had a boy my age…I w-was wondering if m-maybe you would l-like to be f-f-friends…?" Having asked this, she now peered up at Gaara, cringing slightly at his incredulous gaze and returning hers to the ground before continuing. "I m-made you something…I hope y-you will take it…It's o-okay if you d-d-on't though…" Her words came out rushed now, dying off as she lost her confidence. Bringing her arms out from behind her, she presented him with her gift, the sunlight glinting off the object's bright edges.

The pinwheel spun slowly in the wind, its vibrant colors reflecting those of a desert sunset. Taking the toy from her chubby fingers, Gaara stared at the gift in amazement. No one had ever given him a gift before; he held the precious plaything as if it were made of glass. "F-friends?" The small girl's timid question broke him out of his trance. Tearing his gaze from the pinwheel, he met the dark haired girl's anxious gaze. Too stunned to speak, Gaara slowly nodded, a small smile adorning his usually stoic face. At this response, his new friend's face completely transformed, her wrinkled brow replaced by a smile as bright as the sun. "T-that's good…I'm H-hinata…what's your n-name?"

"…Gaara…" His soft voice was barely audible.
"Hinata? It is time to go." Before their conversation could continue, the head of the Hyuuga summoned his daughter, his impassive gaze observing the two children at his feet, his harsh, marble-like eyes contrasting his daughter's kind glance. Nodding obediently, Hinata turned to follow her father back to their place in the crowd. As they walked away, she threw one last look over her shoulder. Meeting Gaara's gaze, she once again smiled, the joy of their newfound friendship clear in her eyes. Facing forward once more, she continued walking, her midnight blue hair shining in the sun. Gaara stared after her, still stunned. For the first time in his short life, he had experienced the gift of friendship.

Eyes snapping open, Gaara brought his head into his hands. Hinata… The heavy sense of loss pervaded all his other senses, to where he could only focus on the pain developing in his chest. I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry… A tear slipped from his closed eyes, landing on the pinwheel in his lap, the gift now forgotten in the Kazekage's grief for his first friend.

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