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"You smiled at me," Gaara repeated a bit louder this time.
"No one smiles at me, no one," Gaara said
"And why is that?" Naruto asked, making Gaara uncomfortable.
"Everyone says I am a monster, a demon that no one likes," Gaara said with immense sadness as he clutched his teddy bear closer, with his eyes starting to tear up.
"Are you?" Naruto asked
"What?" Gaara looked at Naruto with confusion. He expected that Naruto would be disgusted or tell him to leave.
"Are you a monster? What I see is a kid with a very heavy burden on his shoulders." Naruto said softly.
'He knows.' Gaara thought to himself, looking up at Naruto with confusion and worry.
"You aren't afraid of or hate me?" Gaara asked with confusion and sadness, but there was a hidden rekindled hope inside him.
"Why would I feel any of that? You are Gaara and nothing more. A young kid who had done nothing wrong." Naruto said
"You mean that?" Gaara asked with hope in his eyes.
"Of course. I have no reason to lie to you." Naruto said with a warm smile.
Gaara looked back down at the ground and hugged his teddy bear close, unknowingly cherishing the feeling of happiness that he felt.
Suddenly, a gurgling noise was heard, making Naruto look at the little boy with a raised eyebrow while Gaara looked awkward and embarrassed, trying to look anywhere but at Naruto.
Naruto chuckles lightly. It seems the Karaage's smell is more contagious than he expected.
"Gaara," Naruto called softly, making the boy turn towards him slowly.
Naruto just smiled warmly and patted the space next to him on the bench.
Gaara looked uncertain and hesitant for a moment before slowly walking towards the bench that Naruto sat on. He then climbed up and sat beside Naruto.
Naruto smiled before reaching into his vest pocket and taking out the bento storage scroll again. He unsealed another bento box before putting the scroll back into his pocket. He then passed the bento box to Gaara's lap, which looked ridiculous as the bento box looked to be about one-third of Gaara's size.
Naruto handed Gaara the chopsticks attached to the box before opening the lid of the box, revealing that it was another Karaage bento
"You will like this one," Naruto said with a soft tone.
"Is this for me?" Gaara said with a low, unsure tone as he looked between the bento box and Naruto. No one treated him like this before.
"Of course, silly. Eat as much as you want." Naruto replied with a smile.
On the top of a building nearby;
"Should we intervene, Yashamaru-san?" A masked Suna Anbu asked
The one named Yashamaru stayed silent for a moment as he kept his eyes locked on Gaara. He was the boy's uncle and the one assigned by Rasa to monitor Gaara. He then looked at the Konoha nin that Gaara approached. He would have intervened if not for the rumors surrounding the Shinobi's identity.
"One of you go and inform Kazekage-sama and inquire about what to do," Yashamaru said as he looked at the Anbu team that was beside him, to which one of them nodded before disappearing. This Anbu team was patrolling the area when they witnessed their village's Jinchuuriki approach the Konoha nin.
In a nearby road;
"Temari, do we really need to go and get Kunai ourselves? We already have a lot at home." A brown-haired six-year-old boy said with a slight whiny tone as he walked behind an older girl.
"Those are Father's own weapons; we need to get you your own Kankuro," Temari said.
Temari is a young, almost seven-year-old blond girl with green eyes.
"But didn't you say that the Academy won't teach us anything about Kunai for the first semester?" Kankuro said, remembering his sister's complaints from almost a year ago.
"It won't hurt to get them early," Temari said with a hint of finality in her tone.
'Also, I wanted to get out of the house for a while. It is either I go to the Academy or stay at home, and l am fed up.' Temari thought to herself.
As the brother and sister walked, Temari's eyes fell on the abandoned park that came into view, and she felt nostalgic seeing the park where she used to play when the park was still maintained. She also felt sadness seeing it in such a state, especially since she had fond memories with her now deceased mother in that park.
As her eyes looked through the park, she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. A moment later, her brother slammed into her back, which she didn't seem to register, as what was in front of her was more shocking.
"Ow. What the hell, Temari? Why did you stop?" Kankuro complained as he walked around and stood beside Temari while rubbing his nose. The only moment that he looked away from his sister, she had to stop in the middle of the road.
He looked at his sister with an irritated expression, only to see her staring ahead with widened eyes and her mouth slightly open.
"What is it?" Kankuro asked as he looked towards where Temari was looking, only to mirror her expression a moment later.
"Is that…?" Kankuro asked
"Gaara." Temari breathed out in confirmation.
She knew who the boy was. He was her youngest brother. A brother that she knew almost nothing about, a brother that her father told her and Kankuro not to approach for being dangerous. A brother that everyone called a monster. A brother whom her mother died giving birth to. A brother who is almost like a stranger to her. A stranger who is called a monster and a demon by Suna's population.
And here that 'monster' is trying and failing to eat something from a bento box, making the stranger sitting beside him laugh with amusement.
Gaara looked like a regular kid who had a frustrated look on his face due to something not going his way. He seemed to struggle to hold chopsticks, and he tried to take something out of the bento box but failed repeatedly. The stranger beside him seemed to have pitied Gaara before using his own chopsticks and feeding Gaara, whose face seemed to light up at what he was tasting. The stranger then slowly and patiently taught Gaara how to use the chopsticks correctly, and in a short time, Gaara started to eat on his own.
Looking at the stranger beside Gaara, Temari couldn't help but feel sad, envious, and jealous. She should be the one teaching Gaara these things; she is his big sister, for crying out loud. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel hesitant and scared by her father's constant warnings and reminders about Gaara.
Kankuro, on the other hand, was confused more than anything. He was told by their father that Gaara was dangerous and that they should stay away from him. But looking at Gaara right now, he seemed like any other kid.
The two siblings kept watching their youngest brother and the stranger interact, not looking away or knowing what to do. Gaara looked content, happy even. That was until he looked at them, and Gaara's expression dropped, and his eyes dulled again. That change in expression made Temari feel uncomfortable in her heart.
To be continued.
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