Chapter 1
"Okay, everyone, are we ready to leave?" Baki called over the chatter of the young children that flooded the bus. A chorus of 'Yes, Baki-Sensei!' flooded the Jōnin's ears.
Today, some of the six-year-olds, including Gaara's class, are taking a field trip to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, for an entire week, on order of the Kazekage in order for them to strengthen their bonds with the Hokage. In all honesty, Gaara would have enjoyed this trip much more if his siblings, Temari and Kankuro, could come with him. However, Temari and Kankuro were too old to go with Gaara, as Temari was already nine, and Kankuro was eight. "Don't worry, Gaara! I had tons of fun during my field trip to Konohagakure, and I think you will too," Temari had softly said, stroking Gaara's red locks gently.
"I'd have more fun if I had friends on the trip.." Gaara had replied glumly, staring at the floor. Everyone in Gaara's age group feared him, and thought he was a freak because of his ability to manipulate sand. "Chin up, li'l buddy! What's that saying? 'When life gives you lemons, squirt them in other people's eyes'?" Gaara's brother, Kankuro, wondered aloud. Temari reached over, and smacked the back of Kankuro's head with her giant fan.
"No, you bozo! It's, 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'!" Temari huffed, her hands on her hips. "I don't see why you had to hit me..." Kankuro muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, otōto, use this as an opportunity to make new friends while you're at the Hidden Leaf Village!" Temari's thumb stroked Gaara's symbol for 'love' on his forehead. Almost instantly, Gaara's head had snapped up, and he met his sister's turquoise-blue eyes. "When I come back, I'll have more friends than there are stars in the sky!" Gaara declared, his icy green eyes shimmering with excitement.
What a foolish thing to declare. Gaara was walking towards the bus, his luggage trailing behind him, when he neared a group of kids his own age. They were talking indistinctly and laughing, but as soon as Gaara past them, they fell silent, their wide eyes trained on the boy in front of them, as if he might suddenly spin around and tell the sand to attack them. Gaara tried not to show it, but this hurt him dearly, the way even children mistrusted him. He clung tighter to his stuffed bear, and wiped his already-tearing eyes on its synthetic fur.
Gaara had handed his luggage to Baki, and climbed inside of the bus, where his ears were met with the hum of children babbling on about their day or something. Gaara tried to find a seat, but every time he found an empty seat, the children sitting next to them put something on the seat so that he wouldn't sit down. Gaara had ended up sitting all the way in the back, with only his teddy bear for company. The young boy sniffled, and buried his face in his teddy bear's head. "At least you don't run away in fear whenever I'm near you, teddy bear," Gaara whispered as the bus roared to life.
The journey to Konohagakure would take roughly three hours, but Gaara didn't know if he could withstand the loud hum of the bus for that long. Instead, he tuned the world around him out, and settled for staring out of the window, admiring the scenery that was before him. Gaara had never been outside of his beloved village, so he was definitely intrigued. He watched as the landscape slowly turned from the everlasting bleakness of the dunes to tall, lush grass that was loitered with exotic wildflowers. He examined the sky, as it was no longer clouded with dust, but instead was clearer than a crystal. The sky was too blue, almost painfully blue. Gaara was used to the bland stretch of azure that was the sky back home.
Gaara could feel eyes boring into his skull, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he focused on the hushed conversation that was going on behind him. "....I can't believe that Baki-Sensei would allow the freak to come with us on this trip," an unpleasantly shrill girl's voice seethed. "I heard that he almost crushed a girl's leg because she didn't want to play with him, and then he tried to poison her with medicine!" came another girl's voice. Immediately, Gaara tuned himself back out, as the vision that the girl had described was slipping into his brain. He didn't want to crush her leg, he just wanted to play...
For some reason, the world around Gaara became blurry around the edges. Gaara felt something splatter on his cheeks, and he swiped at it with his fingers. His fingers were met with a moisture that Gaara recognized as water. His fingers traveled up to his eyes, where he felt more water pooling at the edge. Gaara didn't realize that he was crying. He wiped furiously at his eyes, and sniffled, water trickling down from his nostrils. He hated that he was able to feel this type of pain, and not the physical type. His uncle Yashamaru had told him that his heart was aching because he was sad, but Gaara didn't know how he'd become happy without friends. Of course, he had his siblings, but deep down, Gaara knew that they only played with him because he was their otōto.
Gaara wanted to go out into the real world, and make real friends, but he didn't know how. How could he make friends when everyone within his village despised him and viewed him as a monster? The world began to blur again, and Gaara wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He sincerely hoped that he would find friends at Konohagakure. Gaara curled himself up into a little ball, rested his forehead against the window pane, and closed his eyes, comforted by the thoughts of all his new friends. He concentrated on what they would look like, how they would act, and how they talked. Ideally, Gaara's friend would have kind eyes and a soft voice.
The more Gaara thought of his fictional friend, the more excited he got. He launched himself into a fantasy wherein he and his 'friend' meet when they stop the other children from talking maliciously about Gaara. Gaara would then thank them, and they would become best friends forever. However, Gaara's little daydream was interrupted when the bus suddenly stopped. The bus lurched forward, them collapsed back, like an elderly person trying to rise from their seat. Gaara was sent flying slightly forward, then thrown back, his head protected by the thick padding of the bus's seats.
"Alright, children, we're here!" Baki sang, his voice bouncing off the bus's walls. Cheers erupted from the bus, as children began to stand up, stretch their limbs, or wake up from a nap. Gaara couldn't believe it had been three hours since their departure. It felt more like an hour, at most. "Everyone, take turns getting off of the bus! I'll dismiss one row at a time. Do NOT get up if your row hasn't been called yet!" Baki instructed. A row of children were dismissed, one at a time, as their excited chatter flooded the bus. "Sitting all alone, are we, Gaara?" Baki murmured softly, leaning against a seat. Gaara could only nod as he clung tightly to his teddy.
"Wanna hear a secret?" the Jōnin stage-whispered, leaning in. Gaara nodded eagerly, although he was a bit uncomfortable at the proximity. "I'll bet that if you make lots of friends here, the other kids will hear what a great friend you are, and they'll all want to become your buddy!" Gaara's eyes widened at the information that his Sensei just shared. "I haven't thought of it like that, Baki-Sensei! Wow! I'll make sure to make lots of new friends!" Gaara exclaimed, determination ablaze in his eyes. "That's the spirit! Go get 'em, tiger!" And with that, Gaara leapt off of his seat, and ran towards the exit of the bus, stumbling as he went.
He jumped off of the bus's stairs, and landed with an oomph on solid ground, which was covered in a blanket of green. Gaara wasn't used to this much greenery and color. Everywhere he looked was either laden with flowers, or a building was occupying that space. Not much sand could be seen so far, which unsettled Gaara. In the distance, he could see a looming gate that bore the Hidden Leaf Village's symbol. "Alright, children, follow me! We're almost there!" Baki called over the shouting, and motioned for the youngsters to come along with him. As they were walking, Gaara became fascinated with the giant trees that were almost everywhere. He didn't know if it was a trick of the light, but Gaara could've sworn that he saw shadows zipping through the trees.
The further they walked, the more apparent something became; the children were giving Gaara a wide berth of space, and whenever he neared a group of kids, they squealed and ran a safe distance away. Gaara could feel the prickling of tears forming in his eyes, but he wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing him cry. Instead, he smiled and began humming to himself, his teddy bear swinging along with his arms. Gaara couldn't wait to see the Hidden Leaf Village. Every now and then, he would let out a squeak of excitement, alarming the children that were nearest to him. But, for once in his life, he didn't care what the other kids were thinking right this moment. All he cared about was meeting new friends.
In the distance, Gaara could see two figures standing in front of Konoha's massive gates, which he immediately identified as Leaf Shinobi. Normally, this would frighten Gaara, and he could feel the sand creeping up and settling on his skin, which acted like armor. However, as the group drew closer, the ninja that were to greet them had kind faces. The entrance to Konohagakure was absolutely gorgeous; the buildings were worn and ancient, yet they were leaking with history, and the grass was a shade of mundane blue. One ninja had a long, pink scar running across his face, sun-tanned skin, and umber-brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. The other had inky-black hair that was styled into a bowl cut, and very thick eyebrows.
"Welcome, children!" the bowl cut man boomed, extending his arms. "I am Gai-Sensei, and this here is Iruka-Sensei! We welcome you to our humble village!" Gaara winced at Gai-Sensei's deafening voice. The man called Iruka-Sensei strolled forward, shook Baki-Sensei's hand, and carried some of the luggage in a show of helpfulness. "Follow us, kids." Iruka-Sensei motioned for the students to follow them, as he walked inside of the gate. Gaara preferred Iruka-Sensei's voice; quiet and calm, like the ocean. Gai-Sensei's voice reminded him of a foghorn. As they passed through the gates, the streets were buzzing with action; people were chatting with each other, while children were running around, screaming and laughing.
As soon as the Leaf children saw the Sand children pass through, they stopped their playing, and began to point and whisper. Gaara found that he didn't like being gawked at like a zoo animal. He locked eyes with a child with spiky blonde hair and denim-blue eyes, who was playing with another child who also had spiky hair, but instead of blonde, it was a shade of raven-black, and his eyes were like coal, stiff and cold. Gaara instantly looked away, and instead looked down at his bear, occasionally stumbling over rocks on the path. Iruka-Sensei stopped in front of a building that looked very much like a hotel. "This is our stop, kids. Go ahead and run inside, and take a look around, okay?" Iruka-Sensei smiled at the children in front of him.
Almost as soon as those words came out, Gaara's classmates all ran forward to collect their luggage, and sped inside, hoping to claim decent rooms. Gaara curled up into a half-ball as the children stampeded past him, shielding his face. As the kids all went inside, Gaara exhaled, and dragged his suitcase inside. The classmates were chattering happily, bragging about their rooms and the view. Already, children from Konoha were beginning to crowd around the hotel, trying to peer inside the windows. Gaara walked silently up the stairs, and chose the bedroom at the very end of the corridor. There was a twin-size bed, which came with a fluffy, white blanket, and matching pillows.
There were a couple of bookcases, which were laden with children's books, a window, two lamps, a closet, and a few paintings. Overall, the room was a bit bland, but Gaara liked it that way. There was a door, which Gaara guessed that it led to the bathroom. He sighed, and began to unpack his things, putting them a way in a meticulous, orderly fashion. By the time Gaara was finished, the sun had begun to set, which cast long strips of sunlight into his room. Gaara had seen a playground on his way over here, so he decided to go over there and socialize with the Konoha children.
Gaara exited his room, and skipped his way downstairs, the hotel strangely quiet. When he stepped outside, all of his classmates were outside, already playing with the Konoha children. Gaara scanned the setting apprehensively, and decided to just go to the playground. It took a while, but eventually, he found the playground, and sat down on the swings, pushing himself back and forth slightly with his feet, sitting his teddy bear on his lap. He watched a soccer game going on in front of him, a mixture of the Leaf children and his classmates. One of the kids had kicked the ball extra hard, and it landed on top of a roof near the playground.
Gaara examined the children's dejected expressions, and decided to help out. He closed his eyes in concentration, raised his hand towards the ball, and send a spear of sand shooting towards the soccer ball. The sand formed into a cloud, lifted the ball from the roof, and sent it into the arms of Gaara. He opened his eyes, and held the ball out for the kids to take. Their expressions were not what Gaara was expecting. The kids looked horrified. They slowly began to inch away, their eyes wide and their mouths agape. One Konoha child began to walk forward uncertainly, but one of Gaara's classmates threw their arm out, and whispered something in their ear.
Gaara couldn't take it anymore. The dam that blocked Gaara's tears suddenly broke loose, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. Gaara threw the ball towards the crowd, and ran. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care; he just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. At first, Gaara didn't even realize that it was raining, he just thought that it was his tears, until he felt water droplets on his hair. He opened his eyes, and realized that the pearly-grey clouds were bathing the world. Gaara didn't care. He just kept running, tripping and stumbling along the way.
He stopped when he neared a dock that was surrounded by water, and collapsed, mud staining his clothes and his teddy bear. He brought his knees up to his face, and sobbed, the tears flowing thick down his cheeks. In all honesty, it felt good to have a good cry after bottling up his emotions. After a few moments, he realized that the rain wasn't hammering against him. Gaara opened his eyes, and found a pair of jet-black eyes staring right back at him.
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