Hello everyone! :D
Fan Day had come and gone already *sigh* but I've read some great stories! ^_^
On with the next bunch of drabbles, then. Enjoy!
Ja ne,
Temari 88 :P
31 – Home :
His apartment was really nothing special, if he thought about it: it was small, full of cracks littering the walls, almost falling apart and had pre-historic furniture—but it was his place, his haven… it was home and he cherished it no matter how ragged it got. Naruto could truthfully count on his hands the number of those he let into his humble home: Ojii-san, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan (he would have invited also Sasuke-teme but he never visited before abandoning the village), then Sai, Yamato-taichou, Ero-sannin and Baa-chan. None of his other friends had ever stepped into his home because it took Naruto some time to decide it was worth it—letting people into his apartment meant accessing to a deeper part of his soul, it made Naruto even more vulnerable to rejection. That is why he felt both nervous and elated, inviting Gaara in for the first time: he was giving the other much more than just his trust, but he was sure his heart was safe with the red-haired.
32 – Confusion :
If you have heard the stories going on about him before you have actually met him, the real thing will surely blow your mind, and not necessarily in a good way; for anyone who hasn't seen the 'legend' take form slowly, watching as the changes took place, they might think you were joking when you told them what he was like. Gaara was trying to stifle his chuckle at the baffled and confused faces of the other 'Kages while they watched Tsunade throw random objects and Naruto easily avoiding them as he tried to explain why he had barged in during an important war meeting: apparently he wanted to fight because, it seemed, he had complete control now. Gaara and the others looked on… the Kazekage could read his fellow leaders' thoughts perfectly: that loud, obnoxious, orange-wearing kid throwing a tantrum was the same shinobi who defeated Pein and his six bodies, surpassed Jiraya of the Sannin as a Sage and had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him?… Yes, it was beyond confusing and impossible to believe, and yet…
33 – Fear :
Gaara can feel it, the smell of fear lingering in the air, and he doesn't blame the ninja standing beside him: this that they are seeing is something like none of them have ever seen. Even now that Naruto can control it, Kyuubi's demonic chakra sends shivers down everybody's backs – even his own; though he trusts the other with his soul, a power such as that, he's never felt before – and they try desperately to remember to breathe, to calm down. The faces Gaara sees all around him are young, pale, scared… most of them don't know who Konoha's 'hero' really is, most of them didn't know about his status as Jinchuuriki, didn't know what he hid. "Don't falter." He says quietly to his ninja, all their eyes now on him. "Don't look away. Don't let fear cloud your knowledge. Just as all of Konoha, I—we will have faith in Naruto." Gaara paused, his words resounding in their minds and his strong voice calming them. "Learn to turn that fear into respect for the will power he is showing."