Hi Naruto,

I wanted to reach out to you to thank you for all you did for me. Meeting you changed my path off of one of destruction. With the unfortunate passing of my father-

No.

That wasn't right.

Greetings Uzumaki Naruto,

I wanted to reach out to you to apologize for all that I've done to you and your village. I was not in control, not only with Sukaku, but also with my role in my village. I have been under the subjugation of my father's whims for longer than I have been alive. I was born to be a weapon without knowing what that truly meant. I am no longer just a tool for the village, but my own person. With that I want-

Gaara wasn't taking responsibility with that one. He was throwing his problems onto others again. He couldn't apologize like that. It wouldn't be right. Naruto deserved a genuine apology.

Hello Uzumaki,

I'm sorry.

I want to make things right.

I don't know what I can do to make things right.

How do I make things right -

Wrong.

Every word he wrote was wrong.

Hi Uzumaki Naruto,

Hello Naruto,

Greetings Uzumaki,

Nothing felt right.

Gaara didn't understand why, but this letter had to be perfect. He had to tell the other person just what meeting him did for his life. How much everything changed from that one fight.

Nothing was perfect.

No words could capture this feeling of respect he had for his fellow jinchūriki. Every attempt might have well started off in the shredder. That would have been a better place for it, anyway.

Maybe Gaara wasn't meant to talk to this boy again. It was supposed to be a once in a lifetime meeting, never replicated or reciprocated. Just a nudge from the universe in the right direction. That must be why nothing worked.

His sister walked into their fathers-

No. Their father is dead.

His sister walked into their office with a stack of new paperwork and letters. There was so much paperwork to do now that everything didn't go according to their father's plan. They were supposed to do this job in shifts until the council came to a decision. It ended up being mostly Gaara who took care of it.

Peeking out from the side was an orange envelope.

Hi! Gaara!

Or should I say soon to be Kazekage? Congrats, man! well not congrats. Your dad died right? That sucks. But he was also an asshole… so maybe it doesn't - I don't know - that has to be ! I'm coming to Suna in a few weeks with the Pervy Sage for my training and wanted to see you. So if you're not busy, we should totally hang out.

Your friend,

Naruto.

Naruto's letter was a mess.

His handwriting could use a lot of improvement. He easily could have just gotten another sheet of paper instead of crossing that all out. It would look more put together that way - more intentional at least. It didn't matter, because it was perfectly Naruto.

And he was coming in a few weeks.