Kiku hated funerals.

Death was just a part of being a ninja, and in a ninja village such as Suna, funerals were a rather frequent occurance. Though she knew these things happened, she would have preffered to forget. She hated the sights and the sounds of people in the depths of sorrow, and she hated the permanence.

"He's really not coming back..." she whispered.

"That's what happens when you die."

Kiku turned to her left to look at Gaara and nodded before looking back out at the large group of people in front of them, all lined up to pay their respects to the fallen Kazekage. Temari and Kankuro stood at the front, thanking each person as they made their way past his grave site. To Kiku it seemed as if the entire village had shown up. Everyone must have wanted to say their final goodbyes.

She and her companion stayed rooted in their spot several feet away.

As the people started to clear out, however, Kiku felt a sudden pull on her hand. A small swirl of sand had wrapped itself around her wrist and it gently pulled her forward. Only then did she notice Gaara had finally decided to move from their secluded spot, daring to venture into the crowd. Kiku took a deep breath and followed after him.

The closer they got, the more people moved aside for them to pass. Kiku could hear the gasps and whispers as Gaara moved by each of them slowly. However, when he stopped at the grave things became completely silent.

Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara as he placed his flower amongst the others at the grave.

"Father...I hope one day I can understand why you did all this."

Gaara's voice was calm and steady as he spoke and Kiku silently wondered what it was he was really feeling in that moment. She really couldn't tell if he was sad or bitter about the current situation, but she kept her questions quiet.

When he turned to walk away, the whispers and murmurs returned. Kiku placed her own flower beside Gaara's and turned to Temari and Kankuro, bowing her head slightly in aknowledgement. Each gave her a small nod before turning their looks back to Gaara, who was now leaving the burial grounds without looking back.

Kiku turned in his directions and set off after him, ignoring the talk of the people behind her. Just in the way he was walking, his pace just slightly quicker than normal, Kiku could tell there was something wrong. She was sure his siblings must have noticed it as well.

As the two walked the empty streets of Suna there was nothing but quiet. Neither one of them said a word and the silence grew harsher and harsher in Kiku's ears. Eventually it was all she could take.

"Gaara-kun?"

He didn't respond, and when Kiku reached a hand out to grab his shoulder she was shocked to have it deflected by a small wall of sand. She let out an audible gasp and Gaara turned to look at her, eyes opened wide. The sand fell away quickly and he cast his gaze downward.

"I'm sorry...about that." he said quietly. Kiku shook her head and waved her hands in front of herself.

"No no no...you don't have to apologize. I didn't mean to startle you like that...really, it's not your fault."

Gaara looked back at her.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

Kiku looked at him and tilted her head in confusion.

"How do I do what?"

"Forgive me so easily..."

Kiku was at a loss for words and she just stared at him for a moment before her answer slowly formed in her mind.

"Because," she said, "I know you deserve it."

Gaara shook his head.

"I wonder how many of their loved ones I killed. All those people at my father's funeral. I wonder how many they'd been to before this, and whether it was my fault. Could they ever forgive that."

Kiku looked into Gaara's eyes. They were pained but his expression stayed neutral. Even though she could tell he was sad, it was as if he'd forgotten how to show it. Kiku felt her own eyes starting to tear up at the very thought.

"I don't know if they ever will, but you'll never know unless you try." A tear made its way down her face. "And even if nobody else ever does, I always will...I promise."

Gaara nodded and watched as Kiku brushed the tear away from her face to smile at him. This time it was Gaara who reached out to Kiku and as she gripped his hand tightly in hers he could feel the corners of his mouth turn up ever so slightly.

A/N: Random filler chapter because I can't sleep O.o