Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
Author's Notes: Hey, everyone. Thanks for the reviews. I know yesterday, I had replaced chapters 5-8, but that's because while I was re-reading everything, I noticed that there was a mistake that I made on each of those chapters that needed to be changed. Both chapters 5 and 6 were labled the same. There were two chapter 5's and it bothers me when I see a mistake like that. So that's why I deleted those chapters then put them back up. Sorry if it confused you.
Anyway, in this next chapter, there's a lot of sadness. So I do not recommended reading this chapter while listening to soft music. I made the mistake of doing that while writing this chapter and I ended up crying by the end of it. No joke. So NO SAD MUSIC. lol. Anyway, read and review, please.
Chapter 10.
For nearly three days now, the Genin trained hard trying to accomplish what Kakashi told them to do. Now and then, Gaara would join the other three to climbing trees but most of the time he tried to stand on his sand, above water. It wasn't easy at all. Every single time, he fell into the spring. Frustrated, he would get out of the water and try it again. He barely even noticed that he was afraid of water now. He was just getting very frustrated that it was too difficult in trying to control his own sand and letting himself stand on it.
However, as the training went with the other three, Gaara was soon able to walk up the tree and then back down without slipping. It was the same for Sakura too. She was able to reach the top of the tree now and stand on the branch at an angle without falling.
And if she ever did slip, Gaara was there to catch her. He climbed the same tree as she did, not that she cared and they would walk right up the trunk. There was only a few times she slipped and Gaara had to use his sand to catch her right out of the air before bringing her back up. But then he noticed something as he kept catching Sakura. He was catching her with his sand and holding her up. He wondered why he could hold someone else up but not himself. This only urged him to keep trying harder. He worked for nearly the entire day trying to stand on his sand. He also did it at night while everyone was sleeping. It took a lot of his energy out of him by working day and night but Gaara refused to give up until he figured out why he couldn't hold himself up on his own sand.
One night things kind of got a little hard for everyone. Especially while Naruto and Sasuke was having their little rivalry dispute, trying to see who could eat the most before they ended up barfing it back up. This made Gaara just eye them with disgust while trying to eat his own food. But he soon lost his own appetite while Sakura was yelling at them both to stop eating if they were going to barf it back up.
"No. I need to eat." Sasuke remarked dryly.
"Yeah! We have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger!" Naruto said grinning while shaking a little.
Gaara rolled his eyes while looking away to try and find something a little more distracting other than watching them eat and then barf it back up. His eyes fell onto a portrait hanging up on the wall. It was a picture of Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari, who was actually smiling. But in the upper left hand corner, there was a large portion missing. That just made Gaara frown as he studied it. There appeared to be someone standing behind Inari and Tsunami but only two pairs of hands were shown.
Sakura was also looking at this picture. "Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall?" She asked before turning around. "Inari was staring at this during dinner. It seems like someone purposely removed the person that was in the picture."
All three Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari looked away with pained looks on their faces. There was a long silence before Tsunami turned away with a sigh. "It's my husband." She whispered as she went into the kitchen to wash dishes. Tazuna nodded solemnly as he looked down at his plate. "And…the man called the hero of the city…" He added.
That was when Inari shoving himself away from the table and walked towards the door. He obviously didn't want to be there to hear this story. Tsunami looked surprised as they all watched him go right out the front door. "Inari, where are you going?" She asked, but was ignored. The door was slammed behind him rather loudly. "Inari!!" Then she whirled around and glared at her father. "Father!! I have told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!!" She yelled at him before she hurried to the door to follow after Inari.
There was a long silence in the room as they listened to nothing. Gaara was frowning as he watched the slammed door before looking at Tazuna, questionably. Sakura also looked around at everyone. "What's wrong with Inari?"
"There seems to be some kind of explanation." Kakashi said quietly.
Tazuna just sighed and shook his head as he looked towards the picture. He was quiet for a short time before shaking his head again. "Inari had a father not related by blood." He began. "They were very close, like a real father and son….Inari would laugh a lot back then…" He stopped for a long moment and started shaking. It caught everyone's attention making them all look at him. And then they saw the tears in the old man's eyes. "But….but Inari changed….since the incident with his father…" Tazuna said shaking his head. "The word "courage" has been stolen from the people of this island…and from Inari. Even since that day…because of that incident…"
Everyone stared at him with confusion. They didn't understand but they all knew that it must have been very bad. Kakashi tilted his head towards the old man, frowning. "That incident? What happened to Inari?" He asked the question everyone was wondering.
Tazuna just sighed again before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, trying to clear them from tears. He also looked very tired as he thought about it but with another sigh he shook his head. "Before I get to that, I first…have to tell you about the man who was called the hero of this city." He told them.
"Hero?" Naruto asked as he folded his arms against the table and leaned across them.
Tazuna just kept his eyes looking down at the table with a very sad look on his face. "It was about three years ago, Inari met that man." He explained. "A couple of boys were picking on Inari. They stole his puppy, Pochi from him and tried to keep him for their selves. Inari begged them to give him back but the kids wouldn't. Then the brat who stole Inari's puppy threw the dog into the bay so it would drown and hurt Inari. They teased Inari, saying that he should jump in and save Pochi but unfortunately, Inari didn't know how to swim." The old man paused to glance at Gaara, who met his eyes before looking away. "Inari wanted to desperately save his dog but he couldn't. He was so afraid and he couldn't swim. He knew he would drown if he went into the water. But the bully, the little brat who always picked on him, he came up right behind Inari and kicked him into the water. Inari kept on splashing in the deep water, begging for help. That dog of his suddenly remembered he could dog paddle and went to the shore, leaving Inari to drown. And those kids went after it. Inari….he nearly drowned. He went under the water and lost consciousness."
At this point, everyone was looking alarmed while listening to Tazuna's story about Inari. Naruto was staring at the table with hard eyes, his face nearly buried into the crook of his arm. Sasuke and Gaara almost shared the same hard look as they stared off to the ground.
"However, something miraculous happened." Tazuna continued. "When Inari woke up again, he was out of the water. Someone had saved him from drowning. It was the man who would be called hero here. He saved Inari and was very kind to him. He told Inari something very important that day too. He said, 'If you're a man, choose a life of no regrets. For something that is precious to you, not matter how tough, no matter how sad, you must try and try and even if you lose your life, protect with your two strong arms.'" Tazuna chuckled. "He also said, 'If you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain forever.' But it still helped Inari discover his courage. His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. After that, Kaiza and Inari became very close. It may have been because Inari's real father died before he got to know him, but he and Kaiza were inseparable, like a real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became a part of the family."
This brought a smile to Naruto's face as he looked at Tazuna. Even Gaara felt a hint of a smile on his face, though there was also a hint of sadness. He had never known his father either. He wondered if his father was anything like this Kaiza. He really hoped so. He also wondered if his father had been happy to be a father to him. But alas, he would never know.
Tazuna continued with his story, though. "And Kaiza was also a man the city needed. One night, there was a terrible storm. It had been raining for nearly a week now and the rivers rose so high that we need dams to keep the rivers from flooding the city and destroying it. But the storm got so bad that one of the dams' door was down. Kaiza and many of the men tried their hardest to close the doors but the water pressure was too much. It nearly destroyed a part of the city. Then Kaiza decided that he could close the door, himself." The old man told the Shinobi. "Inari didn't want him to do it. It was too dangerous. Kaiza could have been killed doing it. Inari begged him not to do it because he didn't want his father to die. But Kaiza told him that he had to. He said he was invincible because he loved the city where Inari was born. He was doing it to protect Inari from the floods. So Kaiza jumped into the flash flood and swam all the way towards the door. He worked so hard in that water to pull the door closed. Inari watched him bravely fight to save the city. He did it. He pulled the doors closed. And then…Kaiza was called a hero by the people of this city. And Inari could not be prouder of his father."
Everyone was smiling as they listened to the great story that Tazuna was telling them. It didn't sound horrible. It was a great story about a true hero. This was something that each of the Genin wanted to live like. So how could it be terrible enough to hurt Inari? They were about to find out.
The smile on Tazuna's face faded as he looked down at the table before him. He looked pained as he recalled the memories. "But Gatou came to this city." He announced.
There was a pause as everyone looked at the old man. He couldn't say it. He looked so hurt as he remembered THE incident. Kakashi frowned as he tilted his head towards Tazuna. "And then this incident happened?" He asked. There was a pause, for the old man could not say. "What exactly happened?" Kakashi asked again.
Shaking, Tazuna looked up at the Shinobi, sorrow and pain in his eyes. "In front of everyone, Kaiza was…..put to death by Gatou." He said seriously.
All five of the Shinobi looked at him with alarm or pain. Even Gaara's calm exterior vanished. He looked at the old man with surprise. They stared at the old man with shock of what he was trying to tell them. "What?" Sakura gasped softly.
Tazuna nodded with tears in his eyes as he turned his head away. He closed his eyes, looking very sad. "Gatou said that Kaiza had been causing trouble for Gatou Corporation. They said he had been conducting terrorist attacks against the company when all he ever did was tell Gatou that the city wasn't interested in the things that he was bringing there. All the terrible products and raunchy people, we didn't want it." The old man said painfully. "Gatou had his Samurai bodyguards cut off Kaiza's arms before us because he always used his arms to protect the city. And then, he told his bodyguard to kill him. From that day, Inari changed….as did Tsunami and the whole city." He finished the story.
There was a long silence as Tazuna's words echoed in the air. Sakura was crying softly as she covered her mouth with a hand. She tried to turn her head away to keep the others from seeing her tears. Naruto, however, just glared across the room. He had such anger in his eyes as he stared at the wall. Gaara glanced at him before looking at the ground. He knew how his blonde friend was feeling. There was such anger and pain in his heart after hearing what Inari had gone through in his such young childhood. After hearing that, he pitied the boy. He had also had lost his father but at least he hadn't had to watch him be murdered for standing up for what was right.
Suddenly, Naruto shoved himself away from the table and tried to bolt away, only to trip on the chair's legs and fell flat on his face. "Ow." He groaned.
Kakashi sat up straighter. He knew what Naruto was trying to do. It was obvious of what he was thinking. Even Gaara knew what it was. "If you're thinking of training, take the day off. You've released too much Chakra. Anymore and you could die." He warned Naruto.
Naruto just pushed himself to his feet with his face set with determination. "I'm going to prove it…" He muttered as he stood up straight, getting surprised looks from the others. "I'm going to prove that in this world….heroes do exist." And he left the house.
After a long moment of silence while Sakura and Sasuke looked at one another then looked at Kakashi who sighed, their eyes immediately adverted to Gaara as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the door. His gourd followed him, being held up with a trail of sand. He was going to help Naruto prove to Inari. The story about Inari's father was definitely an inspiration.
"Gaara, you need rest too. It's the full moon." Kakashi stated as he put his hand down on the table. He earned a few questionable looks from the other three but he didn't explain to them of what he meant.
Gaara just shook his head as he looked directly towards the door. He paused in the doorway as he strapped his gourd onto his back. "I'm not tired. And I don't need sleep. Not right now." He said darkly before leaving after Naruto.
Throughout the entire night of training with his sand, Gaara kept trying and trying to stand on his sand above the spring. But it didn't work. He was getting more and more frustrated as he kept trying but he refused to give up. He barely even noticed as the night grew into dawn. He just kept working harder. No matter how hard it seemed, he was going to do it.
As the sun rose higher into the sky and Gaara found himself panting hard from exhaustion but there was a hint of a determined smile on his face. He had at least gotten himself to stand on the sand for nearly twenty seconds this time. But still, he knew it wasn't enough. He would have to keep working.
But for now, he needed to go find Naruto and see if he was okay.
So, gathering up his gourd, Gaara left the spring and headed towards the clearing where he knew that Naruto would be. He was very exhausted from missing out on sleep but he had wanted to be able to accomplish his deeds before the next fight with Zabuza.
As he approached the clearing, he heard voices. But the sounds of it, it was Naruto. But who was the other voice? He didn't recognize it. Gaara frowned as he looked around before his eyes fell onto Naruto and someone else that he didn't know. It looked like a girl to Gaara. But he couldn't be too sure. She or he was a very pretty person with gorgeous long black hair and dark eyes with big eyelashes. She/he was wearing a light blue robe with a black draw string tied around their waist.
"Is that for someone else? Or yourself?" The pretty person asked looking right at Naruto, who just look confused. When the blonde Shinobi looked even dumber, the pretty person laughed into their hand and looked softly at Naruto. "Do you…have someone who is important to you?" they asked softly before getting a very thoughtful look on their face, as if they were remembering something.
"What?" Naruto asked.
The pretty person slowly nodded as they tilted their head to the side. "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they can truly become strong." She/he said softly.
There was a pause before Naruto smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah! I understand that very well!!" He said brightly. "Actually I do have someone that is really important to me. We've been friends for a long time! He's been my only friend and I was his. I want to be strong to stand by his side when he needs my help!" The pretty person just smiled softly before those pretty dark eyes flashed with alert and they turned sharply to look at Gaara as he stood near the tree. They frowned for a second until Naruto grinned when he saw his friend. "Gaara! See! That's who I meant! He's my bestest friend!" He said cheerfully.
However, Gaara did not return the smile but looked at the pretty person with a little suspicion. He didn't know what it was but this person seemed very familiar. Who was this? The pretty person stared Gaara right in the eye, looking a little un-nerved. That was a look that Gaara knew that look too well. It was a look that he used to get from the other kids in Konoha. But after a minute, the pretty person's face softened as they reached over and picked up their basket full of herbs. The look in their dark eyes had changed. It was almost knowing, almost like this person knew about Gaara. They offered him a gentle smile before standing up.
"You will become strong." The pretty person stated to Naruto as they started walking away. "Let's meet again somewhere."
"Sure!!" Naruto said grinning.
The pretty person nodded as they walked away but paused without turning around. It was like they had something else to say and was trying to decide if they should say it. But then nodded. "Oh….and….I'm a boy." Then he walked away.
The look on Naruto's face was priceless. He looked so horrified as if that was the most terrible thing he had ever heard. Gaara didn't pay attention though. He just turned and watched as the boy walked away, passing by Sasuke, who also looked rather suspicious. But then he turned and looked right at Naruto and then at Gaara, who looked back.
The next day, while at the clearing, both Kakashi and Sakura came to the clearing, looking around. They found the clearing but there was no one there. Or at least so it seemed.
"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi asked out loud. "He left again by himself last night."
Sakura sighed beside him as she looked around, trying to see if Naruto was lying dead on the ground somewhere. But she didn't see anyone. "He's missing breakfast. Plus Sasuke and Gaara goes off on walks and doesn't even come back. I'm kind of worried about them. Especially Gaara. He hasn't even slept since we've been here." She said with a sigh.
Thunk!
Both blinked and looked down to see a Kunai sitting in the ground between them. Frowning, they both look up to see Naruto laughing wearily on a very high branch. He was lying on it while looking down at them. And he was nearly sixty feet up.
"He can already climb that high?" Sakura asked with awe. Kakashi just smirked under his mask while looked up at his blonde haired and loud mouthed student.
"What do you think?! Look how high I can climb now!!" Naruto bellowed down at them. Then he attempted to stand up on the branch before wobbling on the branch as if he was about to fall over. "Whoa!" He gasped.
"Ahh!! Idiot!!" Sakura screamed up at him. Kakashi just looked as worried as he froze beside Sakura. "Oh no!! If you fall from that height…!!"
And then Naruto fell.
Sakura started screaming as she closed her eyes and covered her eyes. She could watch this. She was so sure that Naruto was going to die from the fall. Kakashi was sure of it too. He stared wide eyed with alarm as he watched Naruto fall right off the branch…..and then he sweat dropped dryly. For Naruto was now standing upside down on the branch, grinning down at them. "Heheh. Just kidding!!" He said before bursting with laughter. Both Kakashi and Sakura stared dryly up at him. "Hahahaha!! You fell for it!!" He laughed.
"YOU SCARED ME, IDIOT!!" Sakura screamed with rage at him. Kakashi just sighed and shook his head. However, the worst was about to happen. Naruto finally did fall. His feet came off the branch with a loud pop like suction cups. Again both Kakashi and Sakura froze. "Aww!! Stupid Naruto!! Stop showing off!!" She screamed.
Only this time, Naruto was serious. He was actually falling. His face was twisted in horror and alarm as he fell head first off the tree. "Ahhh!! GYAAAHHH!!" He yelled out in fear.
Suddenly there was a loud thud as Sasuke came out of nowhere and caught Naruto by the ankle, also hanging upside down. So he had manage to do it too. "You moron." He remarked as he looked down at Naruto. Far below, Sakura looked happy to see him. "Sasuke!!" She cheered. "Yay!! Sasuke!! You're the best!!"
"Stop fooling around, Naruto. You could have gotten killed with that prank." Came Gaara's voice as he slowly came out from behind the tree, walking on his sand in mid air. He ducked under the tree branch as he walked on his sand, which was moving as he did. But he had finally did it. He was walking on his sand.
Below, Kakashi looked up with surprise before he smiled under his mask. Just by the look on his face, they knew he was smiling. "You guys are growing very well."
Things were definitely looking up for all of them. Especially for the boys. Both Sasuke and Naruto were still climbing the trees late in the evening while Gaara was walking on sand. They were training rather hard until near exhaustion. But they were definitely getting better.
The only thing that hadn't changed for Gaara was he still could not walk on his sand above water. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand why he could walk on his sand while above the ground but why not water? It was just too confusing. He even tried asking Shukaku if he knew but the demon completely ignored him. He was still in a foul mood with him and Kakashi for what happened after the fight with Zabuza. He snarled at Gaara every time the boy tried to ask him for something before kicking up a storm in his head, making him wince. So Gaara chose to ignore him back.
On the night when Sasuke and Naruto finally made it to the top of the tree, all three boys went back to Tazuna's in pure exhaustion. Gaara was more frustrated than exhausted. He was also soaking wet, which came as a surprise to everyone but Kakashi. But instead of saying anything to them, Gaara stormed over to lean his gourd against the wall before going to sit down with a moody face. Neither Tazuna or Sakura decided to ask.
"Oh, you guys are finally back. What's this? You guys look super dirty and worn out." Tazuna said.
Naruto just laughed weakly as he leaned against Sasuke. But he looked very proud of himself as they staggered over to sit down. "Heheh, both of us….made it to the top." He said wearily. Kakashi nodded looking satisfied. "All right. Naruto, Sasuke, starting tomorrow, you two will also help protect Tazuna." He said. Naruto grinned and threw up a fist into the air. "Okay!" He exclaimed. Sasuke only nodded as he helped Naruto into a chair. He was glancing over to Gaara though. Sakura also looked over. "Gaara, why are you wet?" She asked, then cringed when she got an icy stare.
Kakashi just sighed as he looked at him. "Let me guess. You still can't walk above the water." He said as he folded his hands together.
Gaara looked away, rather in a foul mood. He didn't say anything for a minute before shaking his head. "I don't understand it. I can walk on my sand but I can't walk above the water." He muttered. Kakashi chuckled softly before he reached over and patted the Genin on the head before shaking his head. "Ah, don't worry about it anymore, Gaara. You've already accomplished what I was trying to make you get. I just wanted you to walk on sand. That's all." He told him. "Don't wear yourself out."
"He, he. I'm also worn out from today's bridge work." Tazuna said chuckling. "At any rate, the bridge is almost complete."
The others just smiled as they looked at the old man. Gaara was still not smiling but he did somewhat feel better than before. Tsunami just shook her head as she looked the young blonde and the old man over. "Naruto, Father, don't overdo it, okay?" She told them getting nods. Naruto just slumped over the table, almost falling asleep.
However, Gaara was now looking Inari, who was watching Naruto as he fell asleep on the table. He saw the boy's dark eyes starting to fill with tears before he dipped his head lower. That also got Naruto's attention because he was suddenly awake again. "Whut?" He muttered tiredly.
And Inari just burst from his emotions. "Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men!! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work!! When facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!!" He yelled across the table, startling everyone else.
Both Naruto and Gaara just stared at Inari before looking away. "Whatever, kid. I'm not like you." The blonde remarked.
That just made Inari more upset. "I'd hate to be like you!!" He yelled. "You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy!! What the hell do you know about me?! I'm different from you!! You're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!!" He snapped with his eyes tightly closed with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Something snapped inside Naruto but it was Gaara who reacted first. He shot Inari a look before a small ball of sand shot out of his gourd and hit the boy's hat before lifting the air again, hovering over him. Dumbfounded, Inari looked at Gaara who was glaring coolly at him. The others just looked surprised before Sakura scowled at the red head. "Gaara! He's just a kid!"
"So what?" Gaara said coldly. His teal colored eyes turned back onto Inari. "If you think you have it bad, Inari, guess again. At least you were not a baby when your mother was murdered for protecting you and you remember looking into the killer's eyes." That just stunned everyone in the room, all eyes looking at the red haired Genin with alarm. "At least you can sleep at night without having to worrying about seeing monsters coming after you. I see my mother's murder's eyes every time I close my eyes." He said coldly before he stood up and turned away. He stood there for a few seconds before leaving the room.
Still a little surprised by what his best friend said, Naruto nodded into his arms, without looking up at Inari. "Gaara's right." He finally turned his fierce blue eyes onto the little boy. "So it's okay for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry all day?" He sat up straighter and glared fiercely at the crying boy. "Just keep on crying forever you idiot!! You big baby!" Then he stood up and left the room after Gaara, leaving a trembling Inari, who lowered his head to cry more.
Late that night, Gaara was out on the docks looking out at the dark water with such a foul look on his face. He so angry at that boy, Inari. The boy acted as if everything was against him. But he really didn't know anything about true pain. He didn't know what Gaara and Naruto had gone through their entire lives.
Speaking of which, the brat was also on the docks.
Gaara could hear Inari crying again on the docks, just right around the corner. To keep himself out of view of the boy, he pressed himself against the wall in the shadows and just stood there listening to the boy's sobs. He was somewhat feeling guilty for the way he acted towards the boy, but then again, he was just so angry.
'Why don't you end the boy's misery? Kill the whelp. I need blood anyway. I want to taste blood.' Came that infernal demon's voice.
Gaara growled at him within his mind before completely ignoring him. He did not want to talk to the demon right now. More than less, bend down to his wishes. He would never, ever kill a little boy just for the demon's wishes. He refused it.
"Can I join you?" came Kakashi's voice.
The Genin's head turned to see if his sensei was there with him but then he realized that Kakashi was talking to Inari. So he just kept quiet as he listened. He wondered what Kakashi was doing.
There was a long silence between the two sitting on the docks before Kakashi looked at Inari. "Well, Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said. Sometimes he just doesn't use his head. Neither did Gaara. Gaara can be a little harsh sometimes but he really doesn't mean to be." He tried to explain to Inari. Inari didn't reply. He just looked sadly at the water. So Kakashi continued. "Tazuna told us about your dad. Like you, Naruto and Gaara grew up without a father." That got Inari's attention. "Actually, they've never known their parents. And they've never had a single friend. Only each other. And the truth is, each of them has had a rougher past than you."
"Huh?" Inari asked.
Kakashi just nodded as looked down at Inari. "But I have never once seen them cry or complain. Naruto always…is trying his best to get people to acknowledge him…for that dream he'd his risk his life anytime. And Gaara, well….he just wants people to stop treating him like a monster." Again he got a surprised look from the small boy. "People, kids and adults alike, have treated him like he is the most dangerous monster on the planet but they never ask him how he feels about it. Naruto seems to know how Gaara feels when it comes to loneliness and pain. They're probably sick and tired of crying. They know what it really means to be strong…just like your father." He told Inari. "Naruto may understand your feelings better than anyone else. And Gaara….well, he understands them, but you must understand that, he has had the worst past than anyone could ever imagine."
"What?" The little boy asked with confusion.
Kakashi just smiled faintly at him. "Gaara doesn't know who his parents are or where he comes from. The only memory of his parents he has is the day his mother was murdered for trying to save his life from something, someone. But he doesn't know what it was and he's afraid he'll never find out." He told Inari. "And…they are both can't seem to not be concerned about you."
After that, Kakashi stood up as he patted Inari on the head. "Well, good night." He told him before he turned and went back inside.
There was a long silence as Inari just sat there on the docks, letting all of the words settle into his mind. But then he blinked when he heard the boards creak behind him making him turn to see Gaara at the corner. He froze for a second to see the red haired Genin's slightly pale face with darkness around his eyes but then he relaxed and stared up at him. Gaara was quiet for a minute before he looked away from Inari, staring off towards the water. He was trying to think of why he came out of the shadows. Something that Kakashi had said had made him come out of hiding to say something to Inari. But what was it? An apology for hitting him? He figured that was it.
"…..I'm sorry….." Inari's small voice broke into his thoughts.
Gaara blinked as he looked back at him with surprise. He didn't understand why the kid was apologizing. Wasn't it him that should have apologized? "??" He thought out loud.
Inari looked back at the dark water. There was sadness in his eyes again but he wasn't crying this time. That was a step up for him. "I….I'm sorry for what I said to you and…and Naruto. I guess you did have it harder than me. I don't think….I don't even want to imagine what it was like to not even know who my parents were. Or have the only memory of my mother being killed for protecting me from something bad. I don't…." Inari looked back at Gaara. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes though. To know that. I….I would never want to remember my mother being murdered. And I would have wanted friends and a family."
There was a pause before Gaara's face softened a little, then he moved forward to stand behind Inari, making him have to look directly at him until his hat fell off his head. The hat rolled a little and toppled right off the docks into the water, making Inari gasp. The boy quickly got onto his hands and knees, looking at his hat with wide eyes and a groan as if he was going to cry again.
The Genin merely glanced down at him before he stepped forward to the edge and looked down at it. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on his Chakra within himself and his sand before summoning sand to form steps off the dock to the hat, hovering a foot of the water. Then Gaara stepped down onto the sand, walking along the sand while trying to concentrate hard on his hand. He took another step and another until he reached the hat. Then he bent down to pluck the hat out of the water then walked right back to the docks, calling the sand back right as he passed. Once back on the docks, he waved the hat in the air to get rid of some of the water then plopped it back onto Inari's head.
"Thanks." Gaara muttered in a quiet tone. He got a surprised look from Inari. "You just helped me walk above the water."
Inari blinked a few times before, for the first time in almost a year, he smiled up at Gaara while holding onto his hat as he looked up at him. Gaara looked back, his face softer than before but he didn't smile. Without a word, he waved a hand above Inari and his sand wrapped around the surprised Inari lifting him up. Then the sand lift him up to the second story window, Inari's room and put him inside. "Get some sleep, Inari. You're still a growing boy." Gaara said quietly. Inari just smiled down at him before he climbed off his window sill to go to bed.
Gaara watched the empty window for a minute before he sat down on the docks and looked off into the night. He was feeling much better than he had before. And he was unaware that Kakashi was looking out of the shadows, watching him. There was a soft look on his face before he turned and went inside. Things were beginning to change.