Chapter Seven

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata walked to school together as usual and stood outside the classroom - also as had become usual - that morning, chattering cheerfully about the lunch at Ichiraku's yesterday afternoon, before the bell rang.

"Hey."

They looked around. Ino was standing there, face neutral, arms folded.

"Your hair doesn't look like shit, Sakura," she said. "I mean, you're still not as pretty as me, but it's a start."

Sakura blinked, wide-eyed and puzzled.

"That's Ino-speak for 'I'm sorry for teaming up with Ami yesterday'," Shikamaru clarified. Chouji was smiling cheerfully and nodding.

Ino was blushing, but she stayed stoical, arms folded. Sakura remembered that face - Ino's tough face - and she smiled.

"You're forgiven, Ino," she said.

Ino huffed and dropped her arms. "Well, good, because I'm amazing! Sorry for being such a raving bitch. I guess I should say that to Sasuke, too. Shikamaru and Chouji talked me through the whole… personal space thing," she added sheepishly.

Sasuke gave her an amused, curious sideways look. "It's okay," he said, nodding once. Ino relaxed.

"But really, how else was I supposed to get the information?!" she exploded at Sakura, whose eyebrows rose in surprise. "You have to start telling me shit! Otherwise, how am I supposed to insult you properly?" She smirked.

Sakura smirked back, recovering. "Well," she said playfully, "I'm too busy to walk all the way across the room to tell you things, Ino, so I guess your group will just have to sit under my group's table."

"Fine," Ino spat cattily, and they began walking off through the classroom door together.

"Come on, Hinata-chan!" Sakura called cheerfully over her shoulder. "Get in on this!"

"O… Okay!" Hinata hurried after them, wide-eyed.

"She probably doesn't have enough attitude and fire in her yet. Don't worry. We'll fix that," said Ino, nodding positively.

Hinata smiled calmly, amused. "I look forward to it," she said. Ino smirked back, friendly.

The three girls walked through the classroom door together.

The four boys looked at each other, confused. "... What just happened?" said Naruto.

"Girls becoming friends. It's a mysterious, ritualistic art," said Shikamaru. "That means we follow them."

And he and Chouji trudged off after the girls. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, shrugged, and followed as well.

The foursome sat in the top center table, with Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji in the table below them. The big group began talking and chatting together.

Naruto looked around himself, delighted. His friendship circle was widening even further! Sasuke was smiling more warmly than he had before, too. Naruto became cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic, and animated, getting everyone chuckling.

Iruka watched from his teacher's desk and smiled. "This really is working out quite well," he murmured to himself, pleased. "I haven't even gotten a prank from Naruto in a while. Now for the big test…"

Ami was also watching sullenly, head on her folded arms, from a farther right part of the classroom looking from the seats. She, Kiba, and Shino were sitting close to the high-up classroom clock.

"You know," said Shino matter of factly without looking up from a last check of his homework, "you could swallow your pride like Ino did and ask to be friends as well."

"Yeah, we don't give a shit," said Kiba bluntly. "But ya could."

"No way! I don't need a group! Like I'd want to be friends with those losers…" Ami muttered, turning her head away on her arms and pouting-glaring at the closest wall.

Kiba and Shino shared an eye-roll.

"Alright, class, settle down!" Iruka called at last from the front of the classroom. The chatter quieted into silence. "Today you will be giving me a brief update on how your partner projects are going. If you haven't started your partner projects yet, this is a really good reminder that you need to get going. Getting important personal information from someone is not always as easy as asking them a question, as I'm sure some of you have already learned. And coming to an understanding enough to write about it can be even harder. It's been just about three weeks since the assignment was given, if one includes that Friday and over the weekend.

"This isn't graded. I just want you to fill this out, with your name on it, to tell me how much progress you've made. You fill it out, you get an automatic pass. I've given you spaces and lines below each question to explain your response.

"This information will be good for me to know for potential future projects like this one for future classes."

He handed piles of papers down the front row and had them passed back. Iruka was smiling, pleased. He expected some good responses.

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata each took up a paper and a pencil. They frowned down the list of questions, curious. The questions were all things like:

Have you switched partners? If so, do you feel you learned something from the switch?

Have you learned something about your current partner, or yourself?

Do you feel you understand social interactions and comradeship better since this assignment was assigned?

Do you feel you like your partner? Why or why not? (They will not see this.)

If you took out an extra credit penpal, have the differences in culture and lack of previous knowledge of each other provided an extra element of interest to the exchange?

They all smiled. Even Naruto would have no trouble with this one. And they began writing.

Positive changes? Yeah. Just a few.


After that it was partners time. "Sasuke and Hinata spend all of lunchtime together," Sakura decided. "I spend half of my lunchtime on the rooftop with Naruto, and the other half inside the building with my penpal. Just like Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji say they're spending lunchtimes together."

"Works for me," said Naruto, shrugging. "I'm pretty easygoing."

He really had become a lot friendlier since gaining friends and getting a few things straight in his head.

And so the partnerships all went their separate ways once more.


Sasuke and Hinata spent the walk across campus and the first couple of minutes inside the upstairs empty classroom chatting warmly about friends.

"It's nice," said Hinata, smiling slightly and looking downward, kneeling there with her lunch in the classroom. "I never really felt like I had anyone before this…"

"Why not?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

Hinata looked up suddenly, eyes wide, like she hadn't realized she'd been talking out loud. "Oh!" She laughed nervously and blushed. "Nothing! I didn't mean anything!"

Sasuke gave her an odd look. "... Okay," he said eventually, and went neutrally back to his eating, stoical.

Hinata felt weirdly like she'd disappointed him.

"Well…" she said slowly, "it's just…" She fiddled with her hands and looked sideways, away, as Sasuke looked up. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "Here's my story.

"I was born the eldest daughter, in fact the eldest child, of the prestigious Hyuuga Clan head. I was born a big deal, with lots of expectations put on me. You would think that would lead to an amazing life surrounded by tons of people… But it didn't.

"I was… weak. Weaker than my younger sister, in fact, the child who came after me. I was always messing up, and I never felt like I was good enough," her voice was now more panicked, pained, "and I started becoming ignored in favor of my sister.

"Then one day our father had us do battle against one another out on the Hyuuga Clan sparring mats. I couldn't bear to hurt my younger sister… so Hanabi, the more aggressive one, she won. That's why I'm not Hyuuga clan heiress. Hanabi is.

"And I guess… after that…" Hinata looked sorrowful. "I guess I just… stopped talking to people. Neji, my cousin, very bitter about being a branch family retainer, often told me I was too kind and gentle to make for a worthwhile ninja… and, well, no one ever gainsaid him, so I believed him. My family is very - cold, strict, formal. Nothing like me. They taught me to be so soft spoken. I was… I guess I had a lot of the hallmarks of clinical depression for a little while. My family is… not always kind.

"In fact, I guess I had a lot of the hallmarks of clinical depression until this project." She looked up tentatively, still soft spoken, fiddling with her fingers. "That's why I don't talk to people, it's why I'm so shy. I've -"

"You internalized being weak," Sasuke realized, his face inscrutable. "And in the world of the ninja… strength is everything."

Hinata looked down, red-faced and pained. She felt a bit like she wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

"You're a nicer person than them, though. That's something."

Hinata looked up.

"You are," said Sasuke, shrugging. "You saw past the trappings surrounding me, the rivalry surrounding my clan name, the prejudices surrounding Naruto. That you didn't want to hurt your little sister… that might not be a bad thing. Kindness isn't always weakness. Your bitter cousin, probably more talented on the battlefield, does not have eyes as keen as yours."

Hinata's eyes were wide, emotional, glittering softly. In her own quiet, calm way, this meant a lot to her.

"And what about in a healer or a medic? Would kindness be a bad thing then? Your family isn't thinking this through. Not all ninja are heavy frontline battlefield types." Sasuke was frowning. "It… doesn't make sense.

"It certainly shouldn't keep you from talking to people. You are literally the kind of friend everybody wants to have. A good listener… understanding and accepting… not judging… loyal and compassionate… you even have a sense of humor.

"You should have more confidence in yourself," he said quietly, dark hair falling into his dark eyes and pale, handsome face, but somehow his quiet face was warm. She could tell he was trying to be positive.

She looked down, smiling, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you… Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

"Besides." Sasuke leaned back, feigning casualness. "You seem stronger than you give yourself credit for. You certainly seem to have no problems with training hard."

Hinata was overwhelmed by the strangest desire to hug him.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I can understand…" he admitted, "because if my clan hadn't died, I'd have turned out that way, too."

Hinata paused in genuine surprise.

He looked over at her and snorted, smirking, the strangest bitter sadness in his black eyes. "Amazing, isn't it?" he said, in a horrible tone of voice. "The great Uchiha Sasuke, top of his class… I'd have ended up just like you.

"My brother, of course… He was always better than me. I never felt like I was good enough for my father. I was always ignored. Itachi… he actually had to blackmail my Dad into spending time with me. My older brother was the golden boy of the clan. It was humiliating.

"But I worshipped Itachi. He put on a good act - seemed like a nice person, a good brother. I guess I felt like… it was okay to worship an older brother.

"Do you know? It's funny." He smirked humorlessly at the ceiling, like nothing was really funny at all. "I never saw it coming…

"Then I came home from school one day, years ago, from the Academy, and blood was running in the streets… Bodies were everywhere… The compound was dark and dead silent… I ran home and found him - Itachi - standing, bloody sword, over the bodies of our parents.

"I got to see it, though. He took me into a Sharingan trance - and showed me himself killing people in our clan. Over and over again. He told me that this was to keep me alive - so that I could hate him, hunt him down. He told me… to live in an unsightly way. I think… in a weird way, he wants me to kill him. It's why he didn't kill me. I think a part of him understands what he has done, even as the rest of him went insane under too much pressure to be the perfect ninja years ago...

"I don't remember anything else after that.

"I woke up in a hospital and found out he'd gone rogue. Fled the village and become a missing nin.

"I was never good enough - never as good as him. Right to the end, I could do nothing in his wake. It's why I push myself so hard. Because I'm the only one left… that can kill him. And avenge my clan. I have this… horrible inferiority complex. Obsession with a bunch of dead people. Probably why I'm such an asshole."

He looked over at her, serious, his eyes veiled, in a way that made her blush.

"I've never told anyone that before," he admitted softly. "... How exactly do you do that?"

"D-do what?" Hinata forced out in surprise, still caught up in his face, in his story.

"I'm a lot more… honest and careful and considerate. Warm and happy… And I'm a lot more myself around you," Sasuke admitted. He was looking at her consideringly.

"I… I don't know," Hinata admitted, looking down. "I… I guess I just try to listen, and understand, and not try to force anything, and… help. I don't know how much help I am."

"More than you know," he admitted. "Thanks for listening, and… not trying to preach anything."

Hinata took a risk. She reached out and took his hand, gave it a light squeeze. He stared down at it in surprise. She thought of little moments like this - the way she thought of her smiles. Like little candles.

"You don't need preaching," she said firmly. "I think you see it all pretty clearly. But if you do live in that unsightly way… you're letting him win. You realize that, don't you? That a desire for honor revenge, and living in an unsightly way… are different?"

He paused.

"And… this is a stretch, but maybe a part of your brother still loves you, too," said Hinata quietly. "After all, if he really wanted to die so badly… leaving someone older and more experienced alive would make more sense."

Sasuke sat his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.

"That… actually helps…" he admitted slowly and incredulously, "and… I'd honestly never considered it before…"

"So… do you want to be a hunter nin?" she asked, sitting down beside him against the wall. "An ANBU Black Ops agent? Those kind, the hunter nin, I remember from class that they go out, hunt, and terminate rogue Konoha ninja, like your brother. You'd have to ask lots of Konoha Jounin for special training… but in Konoha, it's not an uncommon thing. Not even for someone young. You're talented - a lot more competitive and battle-ready than me. Very hardworking, like me. I think you could do it."

Sasuke paused - like he'd genuinely never looked that far ahead before. "That… would be useful," he admitted slowly, thoughtfully. "Itachi himself carried that position… And you're right, he did learn everything he knew from fellow Konoha ninja…

"Thanks," Sasuke breathed in delighted surprise, looking over at her.

Hinata smiled. "No problem," she said. "I'm glad I could help! See? Having other people eases the burden, doesn't it?" she said gently, fondly.

He gave a slow, wondrous sort of smile at her. It lit up his face; he was beautiful. It occurred to her then that Uchiha Sasuke was really nothing like anyone thought… and that she'd just a couple of minutes ago called him Sasuke-kun.

She looked down, blushed, and smiled as hard as she could.

They saw their hands still connected… blushed, looked away, and removed them lightning-fast.

Sasuke cleared his throat, a little red-faced and embarrassed, and decided to lighten the heaviness in the air. Hinata clutched onto that instinct with desperate relief.

"So you want to be a healer… and I want to be a hunter nin," Sasuke mused, quietly amused. "A weird pairing. But a good one. You know… we're more alike than I thought."

"The same thought had occurred to me," said Hinata, smiling over at him.

He smiled a lot around her. It seemed infectious. She made him feel better. And Sasuke… he made her feel better. He was warmer and more encouraging deep down than she'd expected. She hadn't thought she'd find anyone else who could make her feel better like that. Sasuke was worlds apart from her family, though on the surface they acted similar.

And there was something… calming about their interaction. For both, she thought. Something she'd never experienced with Naruto.

He was a good friend, really…

It would only occur to them both later that this was, if they counted it out, at least another four points for each of them. Now they only had three left.


Naruto and Sakura were good for each other once they'd decided to be simple friends and partners, because they were both so straightforward.

They bickered good-naturedly a lot, hitting playfully at each other, laughing. They were exasperatedly fond, loudly emotional, and quite direct.

It was… simple. It didn't have incredible depth, but it was fun and refreshing. They suited each other as friends. Sakura didn't put up with Naruto's bullshit, and once past his crush, Naruto turned out to be quite blunt enough not to put up with Sakura's.

That had been a surprise for Sakura. Not an unwelcome one.

So they told each other a lot about themselves in that first meeting, quite loudly and directly, with free honesty and flow of thought. Sakura learned a lot of sobering things about low lonely Naruto's childhood and even early school years had been, things that made her see him differently in a more sympathetic light. She learned about his gardening, his love for animals, and his closeness and loyalty to the people he decided were his friends.

Naruto in turn learned not just about Sakura's hobbies, but a lot about how much Sakura used to be bullied in school, and how self conscious she'd been of her low parentage, back before Ino had befriended her, gotten ahold of her, and done a serious self confidence makeover.

"It's why I forgave Ino so easily," Sakura admitted. "Ino did a lot for me. And I'm the one who broke it off with her over Sasuke - a pretty stupid reason, in hindsight."

She winced, ashamed of herself, but Naruto seemed more curious and to the point than judging. That was nice, too.

Then for the second half of lunch, Sakura grabbed her bookbag and ran with increasing excitement into that same main building hallway. She sat down, grabbed her laptop, opened it up, and opened her messaging.

Hey. You in? I thought this could be our regular time to talk.

A pause. Then he responded.

That would be acceptable. It's when I have lunch during training.

Me too.

I had the ramen. Thank you.

No problem! I'm glad you liked! Yeah, I was hanging out with my friends yesterday. Do you know, the weirdest thing happened this morning? That ex friend I've been fighting with for years… she came up to me and apologized to me today. We've been talking and catching up. What do you think? Are you good luck?

If I am, that would be… a first.

Sakura laughed at the genuine bewilderment behind the simple message. Her pen pal said a lot with a little.

Then he messaged again:

I have to admit, I don't know if I believe in luck.

On an intellectual level? I think luck is happy coincidence. But some of us definitely have more than others.

I have none.

Joke? Or serious?

Very serious. Sorry. I guess that sounds whiny.

No problem. Do you want to talk about it? It might help.

She sent the message and waited. It took him a long time to respond this time.

You would be afraid of me.

Hey, I'm not afraid of much! I am a fiery and independent woman, and damn proud of it! Try me. We're supposed to be friends. Friends talk each other through stuff, don't they?

I wouldn't know. But okay. In the amusing interests of proving myself right, and since we're friends and allies both, I'll tell you. My father who forced me into this exchange would hate me telling you anyway, so I'm all for it. Wait for my email. It will be a few minutes.

Sakura sat, scrolling through her computer, waiting.

She had no idea the letter that was about to hit her.

The email came, a mini essay. She clicked, opened, and read with her usual speed… slowly putting a horrified hand over her mouth. She had a brief thought to shut the computer… but she didn't.

Because if anyone needed a friend, this kid did. But she had no idea what to say at first in response to this.

My father is the Kazekage of Suna. I am his youngest child. My birth killed my mother. Essentially, I killed my mother.

This is partly because of what was done to me before my birth. I was made what is called a jinchuuriki. I have a seal on myself, containing an evil demon made of chakra inside my body. This demon keeps me from sleeping at night. If I sleep, the demon comes awake and kills people. Meanwhile it eats away at my mind. This is why I read so much at night.

It has always been this way.

I was made to be Suna's weapon. I was born a monster. That's what my name means: "monster that loves only itself." My name is Gaara.

I fooled myself for about the first six years of my life. All the children and even the adults were terrified of me. I can control sand, and sometimes when people ran away from me in the streets, this empty heaviness in my chest would so overwhelm me that my sand would lash out at them, trying to yank them back toward me.

But my uncle, Yashamaru, always kept me from doing damage to anyone. The most I did was give people a few cuts and scrapes.

Yashamaru was the only person in my life who treated me kindly. My father hated me; my older siblings kept what they obviously considered to be a safe distance. But Yashamaru was kind.

One day, after I accidentally scraped a girl one of these times in the street, Yashamaru walked into my vast compound room and found me trying to slash my wrists with a knife. I was six. I was not suicidal, but I did not care about my life, for it had nothing in it. I just wanted to know what pain felt like.

I had never felt it, you see. I knew nothing about it. I still don't. My sand shields me from all blows, sometimes even without my conscious knowledge.

Yashamaru told me not to do that again, because the sight bothered him. I do not understand why. I asked him what pain felt like, and he tried to explain it to me. I said it sounded like what I felt like, carrying it around in my chest - all the time. Empty. I think being alone made me feel that way. Yashamaru also tried to explain love to me. I thought that was what I felt for Yashamaru.

I had injured Yashamaru, who had shielded the girl. Scraped him as well. I asked him if he hated me now, because I hurt him. He said it was very hard to hate someone over a cut. I tried putting ointment on his wound and then, wanting to fix what I had done now that I understood it, I ran to the little girl's house that evening to bring some ointment to her.

I was called a monster and the door was slammed in my face. This had happened before, but this time it bothered me more. I do not understand this either.

I was walking home, and a drunk tried to accost me, calling me a monster. He is the first man I killed. I was very angry for reasons I cannot explain. I do not really understand what killing and death means. I have never even bled. I suppose this should have bothered me more than it did.

I went back home and sat on the rooftop of my compound, wondering what was wrong with me. Then someone attacked me. My sand reflexively dealt them a fatal blow. I had no control. They were wearing a mask. I took off the mask and it was my uncle Yashamaru, who had tried to kill me.

He said he had been ordered to do it by my father, but he had taken the mission on willingly, because he hated me for killing my mother the day I was born. He implied that I was incapable of both love and loving, and told me my name meaning: "monster that loves only itself." I had never heard it before.

I had supposed I loved Yashamaru, but he told me I was wrong. He asked me to die, and then he blew himself up with explosive tags lining the pockets of his ninja flak vest.

Of course, I didn't die. The sand. I wish I had died. But death would have been too easy. I learned that I had been created as a monster, and that this was all I was, a weapon, and that was why everyone treated me the way they did.

So I am spoiled in many ways, given all the private shinobi tutoring I could want, but I do not go to a school because I am not human and I never will be.

I carved the character for "love" onto my forehead using my sand, sheer willpower overcoming my sand's defense mechanisms. It was a reminder to myself that I can only love myself.

For years afterward, my father has tried many times to have me assassinated. I kill all the assassins. I check all my food for poison. This is another reason I cannot sleep at night.

I kill other people too. It is what I was built to do. And… when I watch the light leave someone's eyes… the heaviness in my chest lifts. I feel something. Like my life has meaning.

That is my story. You will not talk to me after this, and I expected that. I am sorry you were paired with me. You should know before it goes any further, this was a bad idea in the first place.

Sakura got the feeling he'd never told anyone this story before. So her response was important, and she felt ill equipped in how to handle it.

But first thing, she messaged him:

I finished reading. Wait, because I'm responding with an email.

A pause. Then a message from him:

You're still here? Are you insane?

Not to my knowledge. Give me a few minutes.

And nothing else from him. But she could see his little dot online. Waiting.

So she wrote him a letter back:

First, I have a few things to say. You can ignore them if you'd like, but you should read them.

Plenty of people's mothers die in childbirth with them. No one ever accuses those people of murder. The same applies to you.

I have been researching jinchuuriki, and as far as I can tell, their minds are not influenced by the demons they contain. This makes them in effect sentient, emotional, and human. Read these:

LINK

LINK

LINK

You sound very human. You have a horrible life, but you did feel love and you do feel pain. What you just described… that's exactly what they feel like. I think you feel better when you kill people because when you see the light leave their eyes, what you feel is human connection, which you're not getting anywhere else.

You can choose whether or not to play to everybody's ideas, and act like the monster and the weapon they say you are.

You should not wish you were dead. If you died, I would be sad.

I can't really speak to many of your experiences - I've never felt most of that. So I guess the most I can do is tell you about my own experiences.

The alienation you described from other children is considered a form of bullying in our culture. I was bullied, too. There was this girl Ami and all her friends, and they used to make fun of me and call me ugly and worthless. Then once I was bent over crying, they would start punching and kicking me, and they would kick me in the stomach while I was lying there on the ground. I would cry harder.

I've been self conscious of my appearance ever since, and I'm especially self conscious of my parentage. I come from a very poor, low ranked, weak, nothing special kind of family. I don't suppose that would rank highly with you, but you should just know, it's true. I'm from nobody, and my parents aren't happy and they're always fighting horribly and yelling at me.

I realize that's nowhere near as close to your problems, but it's true.

Since you told me your name, I'll tell you mine: it's Sakura, or "cherry blossom." I was born with full green eyes and a full head of pink hair. So that's what my parents named me. They're not usually poetic, so it's kind of weird.

My first best friend, the one I just made up with - her name was Ino - she saved me from the bullies, became my best friend, and made me feel fiery and pretty and self confident. Like I was worth something. She even encouraged me as a fighting ninja.

Then we started fighting over the same guy. I think we both grew up with the expectation that we would find the perfect guy and then we would be worth something. I was especially prone to feeling like that. Like I wasn't worth anything as I was. So I broke up with my best friend and became this horrible, awful fangirl.

It's funny. I've always been known for being so smart, but I still fell for the same social traps most girls do.

I broke out of that mindset recently, and found a good set of friends. Now I'm good friends with Ino again, who also gave all that up. And I'm still confident in myself. I guess I can say I'm finally happy - and healthy in the mind, too.

If you'd like, I can be your friend. If you don't want that, I guess that's fine too. But I'd like to be your friend. Friends support each other, encourage each other, make each other feel better, and they don't hurt each other. I'm not from your village, so maybe I would be even safer.

I think you could use someone like that.

I hope this helped.

Sakura took a deep breath… and clicked send.


Gaara read the email. And just sat there, breathing hard. He clutched at his head, and then his chest. Both hurt. They hurt really badly.

But… not in a bad way? Was that possible? He wanted to ask her… which was amazing and of itself. He hadn't felt that way… since Yashamaru.

But she wasn't Yashamaru. She had no reason to hate him. Father couldn't reach her.

Right?

Finally, he took a chance, his heart thumping, and responded in message form.

Everything inside me hurts, but in a good way, like I'm happy. Can you explain this? Why would you be sad if I died?

A pause. Then:

Sometimes when I'm really happy, it's like I want to cry. I feel a lot at once. Maybe it's like that. I would be sad if you died because I care about you, and you're my friend.

So if a friend dies, one is sad?

Yes. That's correct.

So… why risk that kind of connection?

It's like a process of getting something and losing something else. What you get is feelings like this. Really strong, happy feelings. We trade that with possibly losing those happy feelings. It's what humans - like you and me - do.

So I am human… even though you have to explain these things to me? The premise that I am a heartless monster… is in itself false?

Yes. Correct. You're one of the most honestly human people I think I know. And I do mean that.

Gaara paused, and just looked over what she had written for a long time. The monster and the flower. They made quite a pair.

Then he wrote:

Thank you… Sakura. I do not have much experience with friends, but you seem like a good one.


Sakura laughed in relief, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She wrote back:

Thank you. I try. I'm crying.

Why?

For you.

He didn't respond for a while. Then:

Thank you.

Two simple words. But there was a lot behind them.

Gaara. Sakura rolled the name around in her head. The Kazekage's son.

I like your name. I just don't like its meaning. Gaara is a nice sounding name. Would your father be okay, with you befriending a commoner?

I don't give a shit what my father is okay with.

I am laughing. No, I suppose you wouldn't.

You are laughing?

You are surprisingly funny.

That is a skill… I did not know I possessed.

You're definitely a straight man. You have a very deadpan sense of humor. Look up some comedy movies with straight men in them.

I will do that. This is the second assignment you have given me.

True.

I like them. Keep doing them.

Sakura smiled.

Well far be it from me to keep my orders from a person who actually likes the fact that I boss them around. I'll do that.

I read your story as well. I do not like your parents. But those girls who kicked you. They are the ones who make me angry. In Suna I would have killed them.

Gaara, can you do me a favor?

Yes.

Don't kill any people I know unless we're in battle or I specifically ask you to.

This is a strange request. Okay. Is this how it is done?

Usually, yes. Most humans only kill people in battle or under special circumstances.

You said I can choose whether or not I act like what people treat me as.

It's true.

Hm. I will try that. I am curious. You seem to have merit.

Thank you. That's actually a huge compliment, coming from you.

This is true. In my eyes, most people do not have merit. But I will refrain from killing them anyway.

That's a good step. I'm proud of you.

Thank you.

Then another message from him:

No one has ever said that to me before.

Sakura smiled sadly, tears stinging her eyes again. She herself had not known it was possible to feel this much at once. The story was so incredible… she almost wouldn't have believed it if he didn't fit his own story so thoroughly.

No one could have made that up. No one except a person who had actually gone through it would have thought to say some of these statements or questions. So she believed him.

Well. It's time someone started. See? This friend thing is working already.

She smiled as she sent the message.

Then she jumped as the bell rang.

I have to go. Class is starting for me. But we'll talk soon.

Yes. See you soon, Sakura.

And you, Gaara-kun! :)

I like your enthusiasm and smiley faces. They are nice.

Aww. I still contend that you're kind of adorable and sweet.

She clicked out and closed the laptop, feeling happy at leaving him on a pleasantly bewildered note. Like a little kiss. He liked her smiley faces. That was… heart melting, actually.

She went to the bathroom and cleaned herself up a little bit from all the beaming and the crying. She arrived back in class to confused and curious faces a little late, something that had never happened to her before.

She did not tell anyone what she had learned - and she knew Gaara wouldn't say anything about her. Intuitively, she trusted in that. It was not his way; he was not that person. One could say that for him.

Similarly, Hinata and Sasuke kept silent about everything they had learned from each other. And both had expected for that to happen as well.


Gaara blinked at the screen, feeling oddly and curiously… what Sakura, with her pink hair and green eyes, had told him was "happy." She had called him by a suffix - presumably affectionately. She thought, absurdly, that he was sweet. What a strange feeling.

He liked it.

Hearing his tutor coming, he quickly clicked out and closed the laptop he had taken out just for this purpose, sliding it away in the netting on the side of the dresser beside his bed. When his tutor clicked through the door and into his bedroom, the old Gaara was sitting there coldly, the part of himself he was with Sakura tucked down deep away inside him once more.

This was important. There was more at stake now. He had to protect this - from any and all invaders. Most especially from his father.

No one could know.

But he would keep his promise to Sakura - the for-fun killing would cease. Nothing he had ever felt when killing compared to this anyway. Perhaps she was right… perhaps the idea that he was a monster that loved only itself… perhaps none of the signs pointed to that anyway.

After all, it wasn't like he would know.

He stood and brushed coldly and silently past his obedient tutor, back out the door and into the lion's den.

It would only occur to either he or Sakura later that right there, they had gotten through at least four points in one conversation - leaving only three left. They had even learned each other's parentage and names.

And between both of them… it meant something.