Kei-Kei Yuki: Okay, when I first started Naruto, I wasn't a huge fan of Gaara but after re-watching the series-Man he is cute! No wonder why people like pairing him with Naruto!

Gaara: Why am I'm not paired with Naruko? I'm much better than that foolish Uchiha.

Kei-Kei Yuki: Sorry, Ga-chan, maybe next time~!

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

She Who Is Light

When old Granny Chiyo first laid eyes on the blonde jinchūriki of Konoha, who was determined to bring back Gaara, who stated how their eyes shared the same pain of loneliness due to their status jinchūriki, the fox-jinchūriki girl's words did not surprise the old granny. Around the world, jinchūriki's were isolated from their village, forced to carry the heavy burden of being used or seen as nothing more than a weapon or a curse. Chiyo didn't have many expectations about the blonde leaf kunoichi, who tended to allow herself to be led on by her emotions.

Aware that if this were the old days when war plagued the land, such actions would have quickly gotten one killed in a heartbeat. There was also the fact that Chiyo couldn't trust them and felt disappointed in how the next generation, instead of looking out for themselves, foolishly believed in allying themselves with another village.

'Ha, don't they know this just allows others to attack?' Chiyo mentally scolded their naive minds and kept her thoughts to herself, though she had to admit that the young pink-haired medical ninja had surprised her. While she was unable to find a cure to save Kankuro, the young girl came in and took charge, wasting no time analyzing Kankuro's condition before finding a way to extract the poison from his body without killing him.

'Hmm, maybe they didn't send a bunch of useless fools afterall,' thought Granny Chiyo, slightly viewing Sakura in a different light from the rest of her companions when she found out the young girl was an apprentice of the slug princess from Konoha. Chiyo may hold a large amount of dislike towards the other woman, but as a medical ninja, Chiyo both envied and held respect for the other woman.

When the group had encountered Uchiha Itachi, Chiyo had to admit that the blonde had surprised her by using Kakashi's corporation, managing to trap the man in a sealing barrier before attacking with her own improvised version of the Rasengan. But upon defeating the man, they found out he was nothing more than an imposter.

The second time the nine-tail jinchūriki girl managed to surprise Chiyo again was when she watched the young girl request the Hyuuga to use his Byakugan before effortlessly disabling the powerful Five-Seal Barrier by overpowering and rewriting the seal using her chakra. Seeing this with her own eyes, Chiyo remembered saying to herself, 'This young girl has the makings of becoming a seal master.' Once it was disabled, the two teams once again were split from each other, Sakura and herself found themselves fighting against her grandson, Sasori.

The two women went through quite the ordeal to defeat him, but in the end, Chiyo sensed that her grandson's wish, even though it resulted in his death, was finally granted, which was that of a child who longed for nothing more than his parents' love. After wishing her grandson well in his next life, she and Sakura finally reunited with Kakashi and Naruko. The hysterical girl had requested for Sakura to heal Gaara, whose head she held resting in her lap.

Sakura, seeing the state Naruko was in, could do nothing but nod her head and try to heal him, but it was already too late. "Why? Why did this have to happen to Ga-chan! He just wanted friends, love, and happiness. He didn't deserve any of this, but why... Why must the world hate us and treat us this way for something entirely out of our hands!? We didn't ask to be jinchūriki, but you forced it upon us and now he is dead!" Throughout Naruko's rant, tears streamed down her cheeks as Gaara's head rested in her lap. Her eyes couldn't help but glare directly at Granny Chiyo, who, feeling guilty, could not look away.

She was the one who sealed the one-tails inside of Gaara when he was an infant, despite knowing what type of life Gaara would live, added with the complications that came with having a tailed-beast sealed inside him. "Girlie, you have every right to be angry at the world and at me. If it would mean anything, I would like to apologize, but since it is too late, there is only one last thing I can do to atone for my past sins." Taking Sakura's place, Granny Chiyo placed her hands over Gaara's chest and began sending whatever amount of lifeforce she had within herself into Gaara.

Halfway through the process, Chiyo sensed a warmth placed on top of her. It was Naruko. "Thank you," the girl softly muttered, eyes dimmed with sadness as she transferred her chakra over to Granny Chiyo. 'She must be able to sense what I'm doing. Ha, what a perceptive child,' grinned the old puppet master.

Before closing her eyes for eternity, Granny Chiyo recalled her past when out of nowhere, luscious blonde strands of hair and glimmering blue eyes appeared in her head. 'This girl's warmth is truly too pure and bright for such a tainted world. Then again, to bring forth change, this world needs her light.'

When Gaara's heartbeat came back to life, the Kazekage felt something wet landed on his cheek before he opened his eyes to see twinkling azure eyes staring down at him. He found such eyes memorizing and painstakingly beautiful. 'But why were they radiating sadness that dimmed their charm?' Gaara asked himself, only to see those precious jeweled eyes regain their beauty once she saw his eyes open.

"Ga-chan!" Naruko happily threw herself over his body, and Gaara had to stop himself from blushing, seeing as he felt the girl's curves press up against him. That was when he suddenly recalled Deidara and Sasori of the Akatsuki attacking his village, his kidnapping, and the painful procedures of having Shukaku extracted from him.

It was only after they brought him home, did Gaara learn of how he had died and how his body was rescued thanks to efforts of the Konohagakure, and how it was thanks to Granny Chiyo that he was resurrected. Hearing this, Gaara recalled how after Shukaku was extracted from him, cold darkness surrounded him until he felt something warm being transferred inside him, slowly flowing its way through his veins, and that was when he heard her voice.

"Gaara! Ga-chan!" Allowing his feet to take the lead, Gaara found himself walking towards a beacon of light that shined its way through the void of darkness that he had found himself trapped in. Breaking out into a run, he urgently wanted to rejoin that sweet voice that meant the world to him. The same voice that had reached out to him when everyone saw him as nothing but a monster.

The one who shared his pain and taught him the value of having loved ones that trusted and depended on you. Finally reaching the end of the tunnel, Gaara found himself ambushed in a tight loving embrace and felt that these arms hugging him were very familiar and that was when he heard her voice whisper into his ear.

"Welcome back, Gaara." Opening his eyes again, Gaara blushed upon seeing Naruko pressed on top of him and hugging him tightly. Yet this didn't stop him from smiling at the girl who he cherished deeply. Sitting on the sidelines, Temari couldn't help but smirk as she eyed the affectionate hug both Gaara and Naruko shared, unaware of the large audience watching them.

'Ah, they would make cute kids in the future.' Temari could already picture their future, ready to begin planning their wedding. After honoring Granny Chiyo for her sacrifice, it was finally time for Team 7 and Team Gai to head back home.

"Now, remember, Ga-chan, to take better care of yourself. If you need anything, just let me know. Also, I'll be sure to write more letters to make sure you're doing okay, and if you need to vent anything, then just let me-Oh and..." Gaara said nothing and allowed Naruko to ramble before suddenly cupping her soft face with his hands, causing many pairs of eyes to be drawn towards them.

Gaara remembered Naruko's visit before heading to Konogakure of how when he mentioned Sasuke, the blonde lost her smile, eyes pointing towards the horizon. "No one knows Sasuke better than me. Even though he believes the path he is taking is the best, it will only destroy and cause him to suffer more pain. People may think I'm foolish for not giving up on him, but hey, he is my teme, and only I can knock some sense into him." These were the words she had said to him with a helpless smile on her face. Right then and there, Gaara knew that no one else could replace the spot that Uchiha Sasuke held in Naruko's heart, but that didn't mean someone couldn't at least try.

"I won't give up on you," Gaara boldly stated these words to Naruko, earning incredulous reactions from those who were intensively watching their exchange.

'I can't believe the Kagekaze is stating his intentions in such a bold fashion!' Sakura, the helpless romantic, couldn't stop herself from swooning over the scene playing out before her.

Too bad Sakura had forgotten that the one Gaara was stating his intentions towards was Uzumaki Naruko, who completely misunderstood the obvious hint his words held. Thinking along the lines that if something were to happen to her, Gaara was only stating he would not give up on Naruko as she did with him, she replied, "And I won't ever give up on you either, Ga-chan!" Naruko shot the Kazekage one of her signature sunny grins, thinking to herself that he was truly a sweet friend to have.

In the background, those who watched this exchange, including the two Gaara fangirls and Sakura, couldn't help facepalming. They were aware of how Gaara's words held emotions that went beyond platonic, saying to themselves, 'That oblivious idiot.'

Nudging Neji in the arm, TenTen leaned over and whispered to the Hyuuga, currently glaring darkly at the Kazekage. "Looks like you have some competition." When Naruko returned home, the blonde didn't think she would have suitors.

Somewhere far away, a certain Uchiha suddenly found himself annoyed and twinkling azure eyes briefly flashed through his head.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" Kabuto politely asked, stepping inside the room that was void of light and so dark that he couldn't even make out Sasuke's figure but heard his voice as clear as day when he said,

"It's nothing."

End of She Who Is Light