Gaara had never heard anyone say his name in a voice that tender.
Well, Yashamaru always spoke to him in a soft voice, and he cherished the comfort it brought. But this was different. There was a sense of deep understanding within the voice, a resonance of a shared burden and the loneliness that came with it.
Gaara sniffled and nodded slowly.
The boy called Naruto smiled, "I've finally found you!"
Gaara wiped his tears with the back of his hands then stood up and turned to Naruto. "Found me?"
"Yes. You weren't in your house, so that guy with the mask and I went looking for you." Naruto pointed to a person wearing a traditional oni mask who was leaning against a wall, watching them with arms crossed.
Gaara saw the man and panicked. He had been spotting members of the anbu spying on him recently. Gaara turned his gaze back at Naruto and stepped backwards in alarm as the sand that always floated around him started to swirl uncontrollably. As Gaara expected, Naruto's eyes widened at the moving sand—just like anyone else would.
"Gaara, please calm down!"
Yashamaru appeared out of nowhere, stepping between Gaara and Naruto, shielding Naruto behind him.
"Yashamaru…!" Gaara felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of his uncle. The sand stopped swirling and dispersed into sparse particles in the air.
"It's alright, Gaara," Yashamaru assured Gaara and gave the anbu member a nod, signaling that he would take over the job of watching Gaara. The man with a mask nodded in response and vanished in a body flicker.
Yashamaru turned back to Gaara and sighed.
Gaara's head drooped. "I'm sorry, Yashamaru."
"Wow! You can control sand?!", Naruto exclaimed, his head popping out from behind Yashamaru.
Gaara blinked in shock. He thought the boy had run away. "Well, I, uh…"
Yashamaru smiled. "You must be Naruto-kun. I'm Gaara uncle Yashamaru."
"Nice to meet you, Yashamaru-!" Naruto beamed at Yashamaru and turned his focus back on Gaara. "Can you make a giant sandcastle? Like a real castle that people can go inside? That would be so cool!"
The pure-hearted request took Gaara aback. Cool…? He had only ever been met with fear because of the sand that followed him everywhere. He certainly never thought anyone would be curious or interested in it. Gaara glanced at Yashamaru, who, much to his surprise, nodded at him approvingly. Hesitantly, Gaara raised his hand.
In front of the ninja academy, a huge mass of sand rose and began to take the form of a castle. As Gaara carefully molded the structure, towers stretched upward, spires sprouted up, and openings appeared on the walls as arched windows. Within seconds, the castle stood taller than the kazekage's office. To finish, Gaara added intricate patterns to the surface of the sand, giving the castle the appearance of being made of bricks and wood.
"Woooah!" Naruto spread out his arms in fascination. "This is AMAZING! We're gonna have so much fun!"
"Are you… inviting me to play?" Gaara's mind struggled to grasp what was happening. He hadn't played with anyone ever since he was separated from his siblings.
"Of course," Naruto laughed. "Come on, Gaara! Open this door!", he urged excitedly.
"Oh. Okay." A small, almost imperceptible smile crept onto Gaara's face as he willed the door to open. They stepped into the castle. Gaara created several more windows to let in more light.
"Hmm, let's make the ceiling of the first floor." Naruto waved his arms above his head, gesturing.
Gaara drew more sand and created a high ceiling and two spiral staircases leading to the upper floor, each adorned with elaborate railings.
"Wow, this is great! The stairs look epic! Now we need a throne over there in the middle!"
The sand where Naruto was pointing shifted. A dais with steps emerged, topped with an ornate throne.
Naruto's eyes sparkled with delight as he rushed to sit onto the throne. "You're really good at this, Gaara!"
Gaara blushed, unused to the praise. Only Temari and Kankuro ever showed appreciation for what he could do with sand. He never imagined hearing it from someone who had just met him.
The two continued their collaboration as they designed and made furniture and decorations out of sand, Naruto's ideas blending with Gaara's execution and enhancements.
"...! Sorry!" Gaara gasped when a grand chandelier crumbled into a pile of sand as soon as he let go of his control on it. He quickly raised his hand again to rebuild it, but Naruto stopped him.
"What are you saying sorry for?", Naruto laughed, his hand gently on Gaara's wrist. "So stuff from the ceiling just falls if you stop controlling it, right?"
"Yes…" Gaara answered in a small voice, cold sweat running down his back. What if the sand had fallen on top of Naruto? He didn't want to scare him away.
"Then let's go upstairs and build something else, it's no big deal," Naruto said with a reassuring smile, gently tugging Gaara's wrist as he led him to the second floor.
"Hmm… aha!" Naruto tapped his open palm with his fist. "Let's make something you like—what's your favorite animal, Gaara?"
"I… I don't know."
Naruto scratched his head. "Hmm, you don't have a favorite animal? How about frogs? Frogs are my favorite!"
Gaara tilted his head. "Frogs?"
"Yeah!"
"What do they look like…?"
Naruto looked surprised for a second but then grinned. "Oh, they're super cool! They've got big eyes, a wide mouth, and they hop like this!" He squatted down with his arms between his legs, hands touching the sandy floor with fingers splayed, then started leaping across the empty room like a desert hare.
A confused smile broke across Gaara's face as his tension eased upon Naruto's playful antics. "A rabbit?"
"No, no, no, but it makes a sound that sounds like 'rabbit'," Naruto puffed out his cheeks and croaked loudly, "Ribbit! Ribbit!", at which Gaara stifled a laugh.
Under Naruto's enthusiastic guidance, Gaara finally managed to sculpt a frog statue that met Naruto's standards. They went on to build a giant ramen bowl, a large TV, and a fridge filled with snacks among many other things. Hours passed as they kept discussing and building, making the castle richer on the inside. Gaara couldn't help but feel flattered by Naruto's admiration of his creations. Little by little, the gloominess that had weighed on him dissolved with every "ooh" and "wow" from Naruto. Before he even realized it, he was giggling behind sofas and running up and down staircases inside the six-story fortress of sand, playing hide-and-seek with the boy whose contagious smile seemed to brighten every corner of the castle.
"Yay!" Naruto pounced onto a large bed that Gaara made, his cheer muffled when his face sank into the sandy pillow.
"Haha!" Gaara let out a chuckle.
Naruto flipped over and laughed.
"Gaara-sama, Naruto-kun! It's time for lunch!" Yashamaru called from outside the castle.
"Okay!"
Naruto was about to go downstairs when Gaara said, "Wait". He elongated a window into a doorway then drew sand from the ground, creating a slide that stretched all the way up to it. Naruto marveled at the slide, quickly sat down on the edge, and slid down with a loud cheer, his laughter ringing through the air as he reached the bottom and sent sand splashing everywhere. Gaara followed, sliding down after him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Gaara laughed—a carefree, joyous sound that surprised even himself.
The two boys took the lamb flatbread sandwiches that Yashamaru brought them and climbed back to the top of the castle to enjoy the view as they ate.
"This is the most fun I've ever had!" Naruto declared, flopping down on the crenelated parapet of a turret and taking a bite of his pita.
"Me, too." Gaara found himself grinning in a silly way as they gazed out at the village spread out below. From their vantage point in front of the academy, the market streets, the central park, and the scattered households of Sunagakure all looked so small. So small that the sad memories Gaara had of those places felt almost trivial.
"This place is so different from Konoha," Naruto said, chewing on the lamb jerky, his voice tinged with awe.
"You're not from Suna?" Gaara asked, though he had already suspected the answer.
"Nope, I'm from Konohagakure." Naruto replied, shaking his head. "But I like it here," he added. "I left Konoha because… well, things weren't easy for me there. I thought maybe I'd find a new home here in Suna."
Gaara lowered his head, feeling a kinship with Naruto. "I… I think I understand…" he said quietly. To abandon your home and search for another, one must have experienced utter desolation.
"Thanks for saying that!" Naruto's smile returned, somehow even brighter than before. "Anyway, can you show me around Suna? I want to explore this village!"
Gaara smiled back, his heart lighter. "Sure!"
The afternoon sun blazed down on the busy market streets of Sunagakure. A dry breeze swept through the stalls, stirring the rich aroma of spices and freshly baked flatbreads. Yashamaru followed a few steps behind Gaara and Naruto as they walked down the narrow paths, smiling softly as he gave them space.
"Whoa, what are these? Turnips? Onions?"
"These are beets."
"I've never seen food like this! What's this even called?"
"Halva. It's a sweet made from sesame seeds and honey."
Naruto's eyes were filled with wonder as he darted from stall to stall. Colorful handwoven fabrics draped across tables, sun-dried fruits piled high in baskets, lacquered wooden ornaments neatly arranged in rows—everything was completely new to him.
Gaara tried to keep himself in an upbeat mood as he introduced the goods to Naruto, but he couldn't help but start feeling insecure. Every one of Naruto's questions reminded Gaara that he wasn't from here, which meant he didn't know what Gaara carried inside. How will he react when he finds out? The fearful stares of the villagers that Gaara had convinced himself to get used to suddenly seemed colder than usual. Naruto noticed how people froze and kept their distance. His smile faltered, and he stepped closer to Gaara, as if trying to shield him from the wary eyes.
"What are you all looking at? Gaara's not scary at all!" Naruto stopped abruptly and yelled, startling everyone on the street—including Gaara.
"Na- Naruto-?" Yashamaru quickly approached them.
Naruto wrapped his arms protectively around Gaara. "Don't mind them," he said firmly. "They don't know you like I do. You're not alone, Gaara."
Looking into Naruto's compassionate eyes, Gaara felt like crying again, but for a different reason than before. His heart swelled with gratitude. No one had ever stood up for him like this.
"Don't…Don't cry, Gaara," Naruto said worriedly, then his face lit up. "Hey, did you know? When you're running, you don't notice the looks people give you!" Without a moment's delay, Naruto took Gaara's hand in his and started running.
"Huh? Wai—"
They dashed down the streets, hands held tight, with Naruto shouting, "'Scuse me! 'Scuse me!" and flailing his free arm in a shooing gesture. As they ran, the world around Gaara changed. The market stalls and villagers dimmed into the background. The frightened gasps and nervous whispers faded away. All Gaara could see was the blowing blonde hair that shimmered under the sun. All he could hear was their footsteps and the cheerful voice encouraging him to keep up. It almost felt like time had stopped, if not for the fact that Gaara knew he was running—running toward somewhere he had never known.
The two boys finally slowed down to a halt to catch their breaths, panting with their hands on their knees. There was no one else around the small park. Their shadows stretched long across the ground in the sunset.
"What do you think, Gaara? Am I right?"
Gaara raised his head and saw Naruto turn back, his grinning face glowing in the amber and vermilion light. "Resplendent"—was the first word that came into Gaara's mind.
"Yes," Gaara beamed at him. "And I found one more thing."
"What is it?"
"I'm starting to like my name."