Chapter Text
“Hey, Kankuro,” Temari knocked on the door of his younger brother, letting him know that she was coming in, “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Kankuro answered while sitting up, but still texting on his phone.
“Yeah, sure. You’re texting that guy again, right?” she sat next to him.
Kankuro rolled his eyes, groaning and stood up from the bed, “I am,”
“I told you he’s just messing with you. He acts completely different at school,” she stood up too.
“Whatever. What do you want?” he crossed his arms.
Temari began walking towards her brother, “I think we should do something for Gaara,”
Kankuro raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me like that. He’s our brother,” she tried to uncross his arms.
Kankuro scoffed, “Yeah, who we haven’t seen in like, I don't know, like four years,”
Temari rolled her eyes, “He’s still our brother,”
Kankuro groaned.
“Besides, she was our mother too. Just because dad is a dickhead doesn’t mean you should be too,” she commented.
“You wanna do like balloons and a cake that says: ‘sorry mom died, welcome home,’?” he asked sarcastically.
Temari complained, “If you don’t want to do anything, fine. I’ll do it myself,”
She began walking out of the room when Kankuro stopped her.
“I’m sorry. I’ll help you,”
She squealed with excitement. She had really missed her brother, and though they weren’t close, she was really happy that he would be living with them. And, although Kankuro didn’t like showing it, he was happy too. They began decorating the house and even helped the maid with the spare room that now would be their brother’s.
Just before the sky got dark, they heard the so longed doorbell.
“He’s here!” Temari shrieked, shaking her fists with excitement.
“Relax, sister,” Kankuro laughed.
The huge white entrance door opened revealing their small red haired brother. He was much taller than what he was four years ago, but his face didn’t change at all.
“Hi,” he lifted his hand.
“Hi,” Temari hugged him, “We’re glad you’re here,”
Gaara ungracefully hugged his sister back.
“Temari, let him arrive first,” she heard her dad’s voice call.
He closed the door behind him and walked further into the white hallway.
Gaara stared amazed at the immensity of the house that was before him. He had never visited this house before.
“Come in, I’ll show you your room,” Rasa said.
Gaara snapped back and followed his family to where they were heading. He gulped as he encountered the stairs that led them to the upstairs rooms. Blinking multiple times as he realised that his new room was about the size of his old house in Suna.
“This is mine?” he asked sheepishly.
Temari nodded.
“We cleaned it… with help, obviously,” Kankuro added.
“Oh,”
Gaara slowly walked into his room, admiring the multiple coloured balloons on top of his bed, and then left his suitcase on top. The room wasn’t much his style: he liked cozy rooms with earthy tones, but inside this house, everything seemed to be just white.
“Tomorrow you’ll be attending the same school as your brothers. I know your grades were excellent back in Suna, so I hope you excel in here too,” Rasa said, standing at the door frame analyzing the scene, “You’ll have to be there at 10 a.m., so I’ll ask the chauffeur to take you there,”
The brothers silently waited for their father to leave the room. And once the door closed, they freely began talking to their brother.
“You’re gonna love the school,” Temari said eagerly.
“It’s cool, but be careful with some people,” Kankuro added.
As his siblings continued talking, Gaara looked at them a bit overwhelmed. This change was too much for him. He twitched his mouth and turned back at unpacking his things.
Kankuro slightly elbowed Temari when he noticed that he wasn’t paying that much attention to what they were saying, “We’re gonna let you settle. We’ll see you tomorrow at school,”
They both walked out of his room. Gaara wouldn’t admit it, but he was relieved. He placed his suitcase on the ground and walked around his room. He looked out of the window and admired Konoha’s spectacular view; the buildings, the big houses, expensive cars and the people walking by. This place screamed money.
Gaara walked to one of the two doors that were closed inside his room. He curiously opened one, revealing what seemed his walk-in closet. He quickly opened the other door and saw an imaculous white bathroom. Back in Suna, he had to share the bathroom with his mom, and when he moved in with his uncle, he also had to share a bathroom. And now, he had a bath, a big shower, his own toilet and his own sink.
He took a deep breath, letting in the smell of the clean bathroom. After that, he walked back to his bed and sat there, admiring the floor to ceiling windows that were on his room.
If only he had known this place under other circumstances…
It had been a year since their mother died, but he knew his siblings weren’t even affected by it. How could they? They didn’t even talk to her. Unlike him, they moved to Konoha very young when their parents got a divorce and made a life in the big city.
He laid on the bed, and texted his uncle Yashamaru, who he had been living with up until now, and before he could notice, he fell asleep.
Gaara woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. He looked at the hour, frightened that he might have missed school, but calmed himself once he realised he still had enough time. He walked downstairs and saw an unknown girl cooking breakfast.
“Morning,” she greeted, serving breakfast for him.
“Morning,” he answered.
He yawned and saw the breakfast plate on top of the counter.
“It’s for you,” she said nicely.
Gaara looked at her puzzled.
“Me?” his eyebrows furrowed, “Why?”
She giggled and began picking up the plates that she had used, “I’m the maid. I cook here, and clean. You’re Rasa’s son, Gaara,”
Gaara sat down and began diggin on his plate, “Yeah, I’m Gaara. What’s your name?” he asked.
“I’m Natsuko. Nice to meet you,” she smiled.
“This is delicious,” he said as he chewed on the sausage.
“Thank you, Gaara,” she bowed slightly, “You’re not from here, aren’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
Natsuko smiled, “You’re different,”
Gaara’s eyebrows furrowed at that answer. Before he could ask her what did she mean by that, he noticed the minimalistic clock near the kitchen door. Shit. He only had five minutes to get ready before the chauffeur arrived.
“Natsuko, this is delicious. But I have to get ready for school,” he apologized, but took one more bite before rushing upstairs to get his uniform.
He opened the door and searched for his new uniform inside his walk-in closet. He put it on as fast as he could, brushed his teeth and ruffled his red hair a bit instead of combing it.
“Goodbye, Natsuko,” he yelled before walking out of the door.
He encountered an old looking man (How cliché) and immediately knew he was the driver. Though Gaara had never seen such an expensive car in his life, he still approached it confidently.
“Morning,” he greeted.
“Morning,”
They both got into the car and silently drove to the school. Gaara stared at the huge houses from his neighbourhood. ‘How many people live in there?’ he thought to himself as they passed by a mansion.
Before he could notice, he was already at the doors of Konoha Institute. One of the most prestigious schools in the Land of Fire and home of the Konoha panthers.
Gaara walked inside the school guided by Iruka, the counselor, to the principal’s office.
Iruka knocked on the door, “Mrs. Tsunade,”
The door was suddenly opened by an eagerly looking blonde woman, “Iruka, come in,”
“He’s Gaara, our new student,”
Gaara waved at her, unwillingly noticing the smell of alcohol impregnated inside the office.
“Hey there, Gaara. Welcome to Konoha Institute. I’m Principal Tsunade, and I hope we get along well. I saw your grades and I’m impressed. Your father had talked to me about you, and I thought you were transferring a year ago, but,” she shrugged.
Gaara smiled sheepishly.
“Wear that uniform proudly,” Gaara looked at his gray uniform raising an eyebrow, “Iruka will take you to your classroom. Anything you need, don’t hesitate on asking,” she smiled.
Gaara’s eyes quickly turned to Iruka’s. He signaled him the door and he followed him there. That lady was surely weird. Besides, how could he wear proudly such an ugly uniform? The only thing that highlighted the grayness of the uniform was the red stripe at the end of it. Aside from that, it was just another suit.
“We’re here,” Iruka stopped in front of a door that read ‘room 209’.
Gaara took a deep breath before opening the door of his new classroom. He was nervous about his new life and what new things it would bring.
“It’s okay,” Counselor Iruka’s voice made him calm his thoughts a little bit. They both walked inside a classroom full of different faces. Gaara’s heart started to beat faster as he analyzed each and every student. He had never seen such intimidating high schoolers.
“This is our new student, Gaara. I hope you all make him feel welcome,” Iruka said to the rest of the students. He patted Gaara’s shoulder indicating him to take a seat. Gaara quickly took the only seat that was available, which was in front.
Iruka left the classroom. The rest of the students seemed unamused with his arrival, but he couldn’t blame them. Unlike most of them, he wasn’t cool or famous.
“Psst,” someone tapped his shoulder from behind. Gaara turned around, trying not to interrupt the teacher’s lesson, “Can you write your name here?” A pink-haired girl handed him a piece of paper and a pen.
Gaara didn’t hesitate and wrote his name, then gave her back the paper. He wasn’t sure what was that for, but he appreciated nice gestures.
“Nice to meet you Gaara, I’m Sakura,” she said.
Gaara smiled at the girl behind him.
The lesson continued until the bell rang at 10:45 a.m.
Gaara picked up his things and waited for the rest of the students to leave the class. Even though he was transferred just a month after the new school year began, he had a lot to catch up on.
“Uh, Mr. Genma,” he called nervously.
“Gaara, right?”
“Aha,” he paused, “Umm, I wanted to know if there are any extra lessons or something I could take,”
“Hmm,” Genma placed what looked like a metal toothpick in his mouth, “For your tests you can ask Sakura or Hinata if you have any questions on any subject,” Gaara nodded nervously. He knew Sakura, so that was a relief.
“I’ll ask them, thank you,” he left the classroom.
Gaara began wandering around the hallways of his new school. He admired everyone and their fabulous looks. The classrooms were clean and high-tech, just like in the movies.
He ran his hand on the lockers, feeling the metal on his fingertips as he distracted himself with every student passing by. He arrived to his new locker and opened it. Empty. He placed some of his books inside it and a photo of his mother, trying to make it feel more like home.
He grabbed his earphones and began playing his newly done playlist. Slowly, he walked to the cafeteria thinking that maybe he should search for his siblings.
Gaara entered the cafeteria and stood by the door. Albeit it was cliché, he could notice how each group was divided. The jocks, the nerds, the artists, the others and obviously, the group he belongs to, the nobodies.
He sat on an empty table near the corner and analyzed his surroundings as his music played only for him.
Gaara was suddenly startled by a hand slapping the table. He took off his earphones and looked up.
“Why didn’t you sit with us?” Kankuro asked.
The purple makeup covering his brother’s face confused Gaara. He wasn’t wearing that yesterday.
His mouth opened slightly, “Uh… I don’t know. Didn’t want to bother,”
Kankuro hummed, acknowledging what his brother just said, “Oh, well. See you later then,” he pranced back at his table.
Before Gaara could place his earphone back on, his alarm went on. Meaning that lunch time was over and now he had to go to his next class. He followed a flock that seemed his age and some people he remembered from his first class until they arrived at a door that read ‘room 205’.
Gaara tried to sit on the back, but every seat was taken, so again, he had to sit in front of everyone. He placed his books on top of his desk and sat on his chair, sinking on it so that he could go unnoticed.
“I swear if he’s late again principal Tsunade is finding out,” the pink-haired girl from earlier grumbled.
She stood up from her chair and walked to the door to see if their teacher was anywhere around.
“Chill,” a voice from the back said, “If he’s not here in fifteen minutes, we’re legally allowed to go,”
“Kiba, do you seriously think that’s true?” Sakura asked visibly annoyed.
“Duh, yeah,” he laughed and high-fived a guy with a ponytail next to him, who was also laughing.
“He’s not coming, we should go,” a blond guy stood up from his chair and stretched his back.
“Who’s not coming?” Kakashi’s voice startled the group.
Gaara quickly straightened as the strong presence of the white haired teacher filled the room.
“Mr. Kakashi,” Sakura’s smile grew big. She took a seat and followed Kakashi with her eyes. She obviously had a huge platonic crush on him.
Kakashi’s class began, and though his presence was strong at first sight, his classes weren’t fun at all. Nobody was paying attention to what he was saying except for a few students, his classes were always him talking about history in a really boring way, so most of them were either sleeping or using their phones.
Gaara tried his best to keep his eyes open and not check his phone, but his voice was so soothing and boring.
After what seemed like an eternity, the class ended. From the back of the classroom, a group of students cheered.
“Finally!” Kiba yelled, making Gaara chuckle, “Hey,” he heard Kiba’s voice calling him.
He turned around and saw four guys staring at him. Kiba, who looked like a pack leader; the guy with the ponytail, the blond and a smiling chubby guy, “Hey,” he answered nervously, thinking that they may have taken his laugh the wrong way.
“What’s your next class?” Kiba asked.
Gaara quickly checked his schedule and answered, “201, math with—“
“Kurenai,” the blond interrupted, “You’re at the same class as Chōji and me. I’m Naruto, by the way,” he stretched his hand out for Gaara to shake, which he did.
“Wh-what about you?” Gaara asked Kiba.
“We take math with Asuma, room 401,” the ponytail guy answered.
“Yeah, somehow they managed to take math with the seniors,” Naruto said jokingly.
“Pff, it was pure luck,” Kiba nervously commented, “Anyways, Shikamaru and I have to go. Asuma loves punctuality,”
They both walked out of the classroom, leaving Gaara alone with Naruto and Choji. Unintentionally, he followed them.
“What school do you come from?” Naruto asked the red-haired as they walked to the classroom.
“Uh, Suna’s High School,” he answered nervously.
“Oh, so you’re not from here,” Naruto said.
Gaara shook his head.
“Well, you’re gonna love here. 9th grade was awesome, so I know this year will be just as cool,” Chōji added with a smile on his face.
They all arrived at the classroom and took a seat, he looked around the classroom and saw that the only students missing were Kiba and Shikamaru.
Kurenai’s class was the complete opposite of Kakashi’s. Kurenai was a fun, vibrant and lovely teacher who forced you to pay attention through her pop questions and jokes. This made it easier for Gaara to understand the class. Back home, he was good at math, but Konoha’s level was superior from Suna’s.
The class ended and Gaara walked to his locker. He was distracted by his own thoughts when something, well someone, caught his eye. A strong looking guy that seemed like the leader of the jocks. His eyebrows were bushy and he had a funny haircut, but his face looked like he could kill you in a second. Next to him was a guy with long brown hair and pale eyes, he also looked like a guy you shouldn’t mess with. The last guy looked younger than they did, he remembered his dark hair and pragmatic look from Kurenai’s class.
Maybe he did wrong by staring at them too shamelessly because in no time, the guy with the bushy brows was in front of him.
“What are you staring at, faggot?” He approached Gaara only to shove him to the nearest lockers. Gaara was sure this wouldn’t end well.