*In Konoha*

The days that followed since she sent the last letter to Suna were a fountain of stress for the pink haired girl. She left the classroom at the same time as the teacher when the bell rang and she came back from the break 1 minute after the teacher entered the classroom. When the classes finished, Sakura had her backpack already packed 2 minutes before the bell rang for the last time, so when the teacher let them go home, Sakura ran through the doors as if her life depended on it. She ran until she was close to her house, where she felt safe. She was on the run all the time, but thankfully she had everything planned. Sakura liked to plan everything.

When she opened the next parcel from Suna, she was amazed to find a vial of sand. She hurried to read the letter and find out what it was. She held the letter in one hand and the sand vial in the other hand. Her eyes bugged out when she opened the vial and saw the sand swirl into the air before it wrapped around her wrist like a sweet golden bracelet.

What an unusual present. I wonder what Gaara-kun meant by 'it will protect you'. Sakura thought. She wondered for a few moments before she forgot what she was thinking and grabbed some crayons to draw. Gaara's photo was so cute. He was a really nice kid. The tattoo on his forehead looked very cool. She grabbed a red marker and she tried to draw the same mark on her forehead. She had her tongue out marking deep concentration.

I don't look as cool as him. She thought about taking a photo of herself like this, but she quickly gave up the idea because Gaara might think she is making fun of him. Sakura didn't want to risk upsetting her only friend.

Right when she was admiring herself in the mirror, her mother opened the door to her room. Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand hurriedly.

"Awww, you are so sweet. I need you to go to the market. Here, hold this."

Her mom handed Sakura a carrot with money wrapped around it and tied with a string. That was how her mom sent her to buy things ever since Sakura brought home soap instead of rice. This way, mistakes like that one can't happen. The seller knew exactly what the mom wanted (carrots) and Sakura had the exact amount of money, so she didn't have to bother with change.

Sakura put the carrot in the pocket of her dress and ran to put on her shoes. She greeted her mom and got out with a smile on her face. She was jumping all the way to the store. She lifted the white veil at the entrance of the shop and sneaked inside. She handed the carrot to the seller, who untied the string herself and take the money.

While she was waiting for the seller to weigh the carrots, Sakura felt somebody snickering behind her and turned around only to freeze when she recognized the faces of the troublesome boys in class. They elbowed each other while looking at her. They decided to get out of the store without buying anything. They must be up to something. Sakura thought. Sakura feared they were waiting for her outside, so she started fidgeting and kept looking behind her.

"Is everything ok, dear?"

"Yes."

"Here you go. Take these to your mom."

Sakura stretched out her hands to grab the bag and bit her lip when she lifted the veil to leave the store. Her steps were headed to the house with somewhat hesitancy. She looked around, but nothing looked suspicious. She roamed a big portion of the road and nothing happened to her, so she took a deep breath and continued to walk carefree, humming a song her mom used to sing to her.

A boy sneaked behind her and yanked her hair all of a sudden until she fell on the ground. She dropped the bag and her hands moved to her hair, trying to pull it back because it hurt. Tears fell from her eyes while she screamed:

"Leave me alone!"

"Why did you snitch on us?"

"Yes, teach her a lesson!" the other encouraged the boy pulling at her hair.

The sand bracelet felt the danger and wrapped itself around the boy's wrist, squeezing hard.

"Ha? What is this?" the boy asked perplexedly.

The sand squeezed a little too hard in the boy's opinion so he freaked out when his bones started to pop. He shook his hand hoping the sand will let him go. He released Sakura and ran away with the others, who looked at Sakura in horror when they heard their leader scream. The information of what just happened didn't have time to sink into Sakura's mind because she was too busy to wipe her tears and try to tame her hair before grabbing her carrots to run back home. The sand returned to her wrist before she had the chance to realize it was gone. Sakura was happy Gaara saved her somehow, even if he was a country away. The fact that she felt protected meant she didn't have to run from the class as soon as she heard the bell ring. There was no need to live in fear of what could happen. She had to thank Gaara for this.

To Gaara-kun

I wish to thank Gaara-kun because he forgave me for the book and especially for the unique present he sent me in the vial. I was very stressed because of my mischievous colleagues, but now thanks to Gaara-kun, I don't have to run away or hide anymore. What Gaara-kun did for me... How did Gaara-kun do this? Can he teach me to do it, too? I want to make it up to Gaara-kun, so I will ask mom to teach me how to sew because I want to sew Gaara-kun's name on a blouse and give it to him as a gift. My 'thank you' gift.

I am very happy to know Gaara-kun is on my side and I am equally sorry to hear Gaara-kun didn't have the chance to spend time with his mom. If Gaara-kun travels to Konoha, he can come to my house and my mom can be his mom, too. To tell you a secret, my parents have always wanted a son.

I didn't have the chance to tell you my opinion about the book you gave me. I have never read anything more interesting than this. It doesn't resemble any of the books in Konoha. There were a few stories that didn't really do it for me, though: the ones with the ship which travelled on the sea. I don't like a lot of action in my stories or movies. But overall, it was great! What does Gaara-kun think about my book?

As for my hair, I am sending Gaara-kun a strand of my hair to convince him that this is my natural hair color. My dad is red-haired, like you; my mom is blonde, so of course the baby has got pink hair. Gaara-kun looks ferocious with those black circles around his eyes and the tattoo on his forehead, but I could never be scared of him because Gaara-kun helped me.

When you will come to Konoha (which I hope will be soon), I will introduce Gaara to a lot of dishes and he will pick all the food he likes.

This week I spent most of the time at the library. I have to admit I felt lonely, but then I remembered your letter must arrive any moment, so this cheered me up instantly. Now that I have a photo of Gaara-kun, I can write the letter with his picture next to me and I feel like I can already talk to Gaara-kun face to face. I wish these letters could arrive faster. If it is not a bother to Gaara-kun, please send me books about Suna because I can read kanji, but not very difficult ones.

My mom says I am pretty tall for a 8 year old girl: 1,20 m; however, Ino is 1,40 m. How tall is Gaara-kun?

I will graduate the Ninja Academy when I will be 12 years old. Is it the same for you, too? I like Iruka-sensei because he is always cheerful and explains all his lessons so well. It would be even better if Naruto and Kiba wouldn't always interrupt him with their stupid pranks. How is your teacher?

I wonder what Gaara-kun's room looks like.

Send me a letter soon, please.

From Sakura Haruno

*In Suna*

Gaara's teachers told his father how unusually calm he became. The boy seemed less troubled than before. It was as if his scales were balanced. Sakura's friendship weighed just as much as the darkness hidden inside him, darkness which was mostly fueled by all the people who were meant to protect him. His father thought that, if the teachers were right, he could finally manipulate Gaara as a weapon to protect the hidden sand village and they could finally drop the assassination attempts. For 7 days Gaara felt his father's scanning eyes on his every move. Days went by and he couldn't go to the post office until he made sure nobody followed him. Luck was on the boy's side on the 10th day because his dad was called in for a meeting with the elders. The boy's heart became light for a brief moment. He knew he had to do something to communicate with the girl without written text. He climbed on a little sand biscuit with his small feet and flew like the thought to the post office. The wind ruffled his sunset colored hair as if it had his mom's fingers and he felt refreshed.

When he got out of the post office with the letter in his hand, he teleported himself under a bridge so he could read in peace. He opened the letter anxiously and found her pink lock of hair. He brushed it with his fingers and smelled it while he read her words. It was the first time after Yashamaru's death that he touched a part of someone else. Little water drops fell onto the letter from above, creating stains on the colored paper. He panicked and hurried to wipe it with his trembling fingers. He hid farther into the shadows underneath the bridge, but the water drops kept falling. He brought a hand to his face in despair and felt it wet. That was when he realized he was crying. They were tears of joy because someone wished to stay with him, tears of joy because his sand protected her. He did an unselfish thing and it made him feel like life is worth living for the first time after his uncle passed away.

He took out the paper he his underneath his blouse and started scribbling really fast. Who knows when his dad's spies would finally discover him? If they will, who knew if they were going to let him send the letter or not?

To Sakura-chan

I water the seed of our friendship with tears of joy. Thank you for the faith you put in me. I will forever keep the gifts Sakura-chan kindly offered to me. I am happy to find out Sakura-chan found peace again.

There is no need for Sakura-chan to go overboard for me. I am happy if Sakura-chan will continue to talk to me.

I am writing this letter in a hurry because my dad doesn't want me to have any friends. If he finds out I am talking to you, I am afraid he will try to sever the bond that ties us. I am sending you one more sand vial, only this time I infused it with my blood. When you open the lid, it will mix with the sand you already have. Infuse it with a drop of your blood and I believe we will be able to communicate without paper. I am sending you this message with one of my father's messenger birds.

From Gaara

He smelled her hair one last time before he sealed the envelope and folded it. His hairless brows frowned, meaning the plan he conceived was about to be put into practice. He used his sand to fly again above the houses and summoned his sand eye to scout the guards in the birds' room while he hid beneath the window. There was only one guard: a tall, black haired man who yawned. He looked tired, which meant he could be easily distracted. Gaara used his sand to drop a stone in the same building, but on a lower floor. The noise made the guard climb down the stairs to check while Gaara jumped through the window and took a big, brown feathered bird from the cage. I hope Sakura won't be scared of it. It's the fastest bird we have. The little boy thought.

He left quickly because the birds started whistling and ruffling their feathers as soon as he entered the room. The guard came back and scratched his head:

"What's gotten into all of you?"

Gaara was already flying towards the border. He covered the bird's eyes, so she wouldn't make noise and draw attention to them. They stopped a few meters from the village gates when Gaara tied the message and the scroll to the bird's leg. He let the bird smell Sakura's hair so she knows where to go and let her go. Only when his eyes lost the bird in Konoha's skies, did Gaara relax his stiff shoulders. He only prayed his plan will work.

*In Konoha*

Sakura was eating with her parents when she heard loud knocks on the window. When she saw the big bird, Sakura screamed and hid behind her mother's skirt while her dad went to the window. He thought outloud:

"A bird from Suna?"

Sakura's eyes became as big as onions.

"There is something tied to its leg. I think it's a message." Her dad continued.

Sakura ran to the window and opened it while untying the paper from the bird.

"Yes! It must be my new friend from Suna."

Her parents looked at each other and frowned.

"What friend?"

"It's part of a school project. We send letters to the kids from Suna and they send letters back to us." Sakura replied while running to her room.

Her father thought this friend must be someone important otherwise he wouldn't have access to messenger birds. He scratched the back of his head and sat back down at the table with his wife, who was laughing. Kids she thought.

Sakura wasn't expecting an answer so soon from Gaara. That was why she was giggling more than usual. She read the note with her eyebrows raised. She summoned the vial Gaara sealed in the scroll and opened its lid. The slightly red sand mixed with the sand on her wrist in a beautiful rose color bracelet. Waaa

"Oh, I almost forgot." Sakura said outloud.

She stung her finger with a needle and let 2 drops of blood pour onto the bracelet. It suddenly glowed for a second before it came back to its original gold color.

I wonder what that was.

A boy's head rung in her head.

Sakura?

The girl freaked out and screamed for good.

"Who is it?"

Sakura, it's me, Gaara.

Gaara-kun? Waa. How did you do this? How can I hear you?

The little boy giggled before he thought of an answer.

I wasn't sure it was going to work. This is great! We established a link through the blood infused sand. Now we can talk anytime.

Ooh. So cool!

"Sakura, is everything alright?" Her dad asked when he opened the door.

Wait a bit. It's my dad.

"Yes, papa. Everything is fine, don't worry."

"Good, my little flower. Come back to eat. You didn't finish."

"Ok, I am coming."

Sakura's dad grabbed her by the shoulders and led her back to the dining room.

Gaara-kun, I have to go eat. Let's talk later.

Sure. Enjoy your lunch.

Note: I wrote Gaara and Sakura's conversation in their mind in bold, but for the next chapter I want to change that. How should I mark their dialogue? I need to distinguish it from actual speech with other characters. Should I pick star, heart or one quotation mark?

Plese tell me what you think about this story. I like reading your reviews. ❤