Chapter Text
It’s snowing. Gaara feels the little crystals land and instantly melt on his skin, a most peculiar feeling.
Snow in the desert, he wonders, could that really be the work of a monster?
The villagers who called for help don’t live far from Sunagakure. They are a poor people, not particularly remarkable in any way. No shinobi to take care of them, either.
Despite his siblings’ disapproval, he embarks on this journey alone, determined to help in any way he can.
After a brief talk with the village’s leader, he is informed of a general position of the supposed monster’s lair: somewhere in a cave, less than a day’s walk from the village. That’s where he sent the hunters who were going to kill the monster, he says, and they never returned.
Gaara doesn’t ask for more details. Perhaps he is too eager to please; to win the love and trust of his people.
As soon as it started to snow, Gaara knew he was close to finding it.
He can almost feel it, a restless energy, hanging over the snow-covered desert. He follows its trail until he arrives at the mouth of a lonely cave. A palisade of icicles protects the strange dwelling, and that’s how he knows this monster isn’t half as evil as the villagers paint it to be.
It’s a human, he realizes, strangely pleased with his findings, a shinobi. It must be.
Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a sudden movement. A wall of sand raises to protect him, shattering the ice dagger thrown at him. A few more projectiles are sent his way, but none of them is able to penetrate his defenses.
“I do not wish to fight you,” he says, tone steady, reassuring.
For a while, there is only silence.
“Are you not one of the hunters he sent?” The voice that answers him is female, slightly raspy, as if she didn’t have the chance to speak often.
Without letting his guard down, he steps closer. “Did you kill the others?”
She snarls, almost like an animal. “They tried to kill me first.”
“You didn’t attack them first?” He asks, confused.
“No. I just wanted them to leave me alone.”
He feels something like a connection, despite only just meeting her. He suspects something more is going on here than the villagers let him know.
“Please, let me speak with you. I can help.” Gaara means what he says. Taking one more step, he slowly lets the sand wall fall, coming face to face with the feared monster.
Taken aback by her appearance – young, around his age, hair wild, dark circles under her eyes betraying lack of sleep – he smiles, despite himself. She’s like me, he thinks.
Her surprise matches his. He looks at her like no one ever had. Eyes wide, she huffs in disbelief. “You’re not…scared of me?”
Gaara shakes his head. “I’m not like the others. I’m not going to hurt you.”
After this, she hesitantly invites him in – into the cold cave she made her home, and also into her heart. She tells him about her past – how the village’s leader, her father, forced her to use her abilities to slay his enemies. They weren’t nearly as helpless as they made themselves seem, the villagers. A band of fierce mercenaries, they attacked other small settlements and robbed them of everything they had. After years of mindless killing, she rebelled against her father and slain most of his men, then ran into the desert. She wished to seclude herself, to live a lonely life away from those who only wanted to use or abuse her. Never before has she met a gentle soul, a kindred spirit.
Until he found her.
Gaara promises to bring the bad men to justice. What’s more, he promises to take her in. Train her. Help her right the wrongs she made.
She’ll never be alone again.