Sunday morning, Naruto woke up slowly, savoring the feeling of being neither awake nor asleep. Do I have something to do? he thought. Nah…what was that noise? Maybe the neighbor's cat got into the house…maybe…maybe he's eating my plants…my ramen…

My ramen! Naruto finally jolted awake, banging his head against the headboard of the bed. With a grunt, he rubbed his head and stumbled out of bed to check his store of cup ramen.

When Naruto was sure his precious collection was all in the right place, untouched, he began to recall yesterday again.

Yes, Sasuke and Naruto had befriended the lonely Gaara. But he'd said that his siblings and father forbade him from setting foot outside. For reasons he wouldn't admit, he had freakish powers that made anyone who saw them fearful. Sasuke and Naruto weren't afraid, though. They hoped Gaara would eventually share his gift with them before his departure.

Gaara could only come to see them at the playground, since it was close to home. Also, it had to be at specific times that he knew none of his kin would be at home, or checking that he was home.

So, they had planned to meet at ten at the playground to play. They didn't have a specific game, but Naruto had the feeling Gaara would be up for anything. He was new to the friends system, as was Naruto, and they would discover together with Sasuke what it felt like to be included.

Naruto literally jumped with joy. All his prayers had been answered! Unfortunately, he hadn't closed the cabinet door all the way, and his skull painfully cracked against the bottom of the top cabinet door.

His cries of agony could be heard, it seemed, for miles around.

_

Sasuke awoke to the cries of birds outside—or so he thought the sounds came from birds. Either way, he dragged himself from his comfy bed and stretched, and ate a hearty meal of oat bran.

Ka-san (meaning "Mother") would have made him pancakes for breakfast.

Shaking his head as if to rid himself of such thoughts, Sasuke swallowed his bland bran and jugged down his orange juice before washing them in the sink. He still had an hour before meeting up with Naruto and Gaara at the park, so he decided to read books.

He was currently reading, "Killing Your Enemy: The Insider's Edition" and it was actually quite interesting.

It would be easier to kill your enemy if you had Mangekyo Sharingan, said a voice at the back of Sasuke's head.

Sasuke closed his eyes hard. I do not have a voice at the back of my head, he made himself think. Now, shut up, Jeffrey.

-

Gaara would have awoken at about this time, had he not been unable to sleep. It wasn't because he was so excited he couldn't sleep, which would have been true, but because of a more sinister purpose.

He could feel the demon's will stir within him. No, Gaara thought. I will not lower myself to Its level. I would not succumb to Its will. I am Gaara! Not a monster!

Then again, just because he thought so, didn't make it so. Who was he to go against the word of anyone who had ever set eyes on him?

But not Naruto. And not Sasuke. They had been different. They, mercifully, had not shunned him. Then again, they didn't know what he could do. Gaara quailed to think just what they might think if they knew…

But he couldn't think of that. He would let them know. He finally had friends! And they had decided to like him for who he was, and not what he was.

Yashamaru had been unable to, along with Temari, Kankuro, Father, and everyone in his own home village. But someone he'd never met before, and had no idea who he was, decided to be his friend.

It was nine, and he hadn't had breakfast. But he wouldn't eat. Couldn't. He was too excited to. His father and his siblings would be leaving shortly for a press conference, and he'd have from ten to one with his newfound friends.

For the first time, Gaara was able to think: I am not alone.

-

Gaara, eager as he was, and so close to the playground, was the first to arrive. He was there only a minute, though, before the number one hyperactive knuckle-headed Academy student showed up. He was breathless upon arrival, a giant grin spread across his face and goggles perched sideways atop his head.

Gaara, though happy Naruto had arrived—he'd been fearful earlier that they might have changed their minds—remained almost as expressionless as earlier. He didn't know how to act with other people, for he'd never been social. He could only smile at Naruto's goofiness.

"Haha, hey!" Naruto laughed, scratching his head where he'd foolishly wounded himself earlier. "I was kinda in a rush, I got up late and I was really hungry—"

"It's fine," Gaara said, nodding. "What about Sasuke?"

"He'll be here soon, I think," Naruto answered, and as he said so, Sasuke appeared in front of them from behind the slide.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked nonchalantly.

"We're all here, then," Gaara said.

"Let's play in the sand," Naruto suggested.

Gaara flinched. He'd left his gourd at the mansion, and he'd hoped that he wouldn't have to go near anything that involved sand or anything about his home, either. To go into the sandbox would be like jinxing himself.

But they wanted to, so he had to comply. So they headed to the small sandbox of red wood. Some kid had left their pail and shovel.

Sasuke picked up the pail. "I'll go get some water from the pond to wet the sand," he volunteered, shaking it free of sand.

After he left, Naruto began to crumple mounds of dry sand beneath his fingers, sitting amidst the hills of sand.

I'm with my friends, thought Naruto. I'm with my friends!

Gaara sat at the side, atop the wooden border, feet touching the sand. He didn't enjoy the feeling, but it wasn't too unpleasant. He was determined to enjoy himself.

Sasuke returned with the pail and splashed it recklessly into the box, sending sprays hitting both Gaara and Naruto. Naruto got the worst of it, having sandy water fly into his mouth.

"Pfft! Bleck! Sasuke!" he complained, wiping his tongue with his hand, which only helped to add to the load of minerals within his mouth.

"Oops," Sasuke teased sarcastically. "My bad!"

After a quick chase of Sasuke by Naruto, the three settled down to play with the sand, and Gaara realized he quite enjoyed the experience, even if it involved the sand.

"Gaara, why do you have black circles around your eyes?" Naruto asked, mashing some sand into an odd shape.

"I don't sleep much," Gaara answered tensely.

"Why?"

Gaara didn't say anything. Naruto was about to ask again, and Sasuke realized it. Idiot, Sasuke thought. It was obvious this was a touchy subject for Gaara.

He stopped the question by saying, "Hey, I made clay!" Indeed, the sand molded beneath his palms had been infected with dirt, and had created a dense, sticky substance.

"I don't like clay," Gaara replied, letting the loose sand fall between his fingers.

"Why?" asked Sasuke, lifting an eyebrow.

"If I do get some sleep, it's always light and fitful. And I always have bad dreams during. A few times I dreamed of exploding clay spiders and birds. It felt so real."

"Ha!" Naruto laughed. "That could never happen."

They parted ways soon after that, after playing on the swings and slide until one in the afternoon, agreeing to meet up at four the next day, an hour after the Academy let out.

Sasuke trudged home, happy yet unsure. Well, if he needed a friend, he had two. Maybe if he killed them both, he'd get double Mangekyo!

Gah! Jeffrey!

Naruto's walk home was far less troubling. He skipped, not a thought crossing his mind but how much he enjoyed having friends. "Wow, there's nothing that could be bad about having friends!" Naruto said aloud to himself. Sasuke would have begged to differ.

Gaara had a similar reaction, except his was worded like this: "It's great having friends! And they don't care that I'm different!"

And at the same time, in two different places, Sasuke and Gaara said in unison: "I hope I don't kill them!"

-

Hi, it's the writer. I hope you're enjoying my work. I just want to say that there will be seven "chronicles", meaning, days of the week. This was Sunday, and each day they will have a little adventure, until the day Gaara leaves for the Land of Wind. I hope you enjoy Naruto and the Mystery Boy, and I hope you think I'm portraying the characters well! And please, don't stop yourself from reviewing if you feel like it…not that I'm begging for approval or anything…heh heh…

In all seriousness, I love your thoughts on my stories and would love for you to tell me how you feel, good or bad. Thank you.