An Unexpected Friend (Book 1 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 3 - Sandy Adventures Part 2

She hesitated before answering. She would do anything for her dad, but she really didn't want to leave Gaara's side. She didn't want him to think that she was purposely avoiding him like all of the other kids, but she knew how special the mission was for her father. She couldn't let him down.

"Fine," she said, "But only for a couple of days."

"We'll only be here for five days. Can't you do it until we leave?" he pleaded her. He never would have thought that he would ever beg someone to do something for him, or that he would be a sucker for big gray eyes, but life always threw surprises.

"Only two days. Then I get to play with Gaara until we leave," she negotiated.

"You're not going to give in, are you?" her dad asked.

"Nope."

"Okay. Just three days," Kakashi conceded. He watched as Kokoro cheered loudly before she settled down and continued to read her book. He sighed in resignation and wondered if he was becoming a pushover. He grew pleased, though, as Kokoro stuck to their agreement. She played with Kankuro for the next few days. He often found her staring at Gaara as if she wanted to shirk her responsibilities and engage him in a childish game, but she'd shake her head and continue playing with Kankuro. Kakashi knew his daughter wasn't happy with the arrangements - he could see the fake smiles she gave the brown-haired boy - but there wasn't anything she could do. If she wanted to be a shinobi, she had to learn that there were duties you stick to, even if they clash with what you wanted to do.

When the sun rose on the fourth day, Kokoro giddily jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. She wanted to tell Gaara the good news! She could finally play with him again! She hoped he didn't hold it against her. It wasn't like she meant to ignore him, she had to. She heard her dad chuckle at her eagerness and she stuck her tongue out at him in response. She followed her dad all the way to the breakfast room. She was quick to snag a seat next to Gaara, much to his amazement. She winked at him and gave him a wide smile before she greeted the others in the room. When her dad was seated, the Kazekage spoke.

"You've switched seats," he said with a frown on his face.

"Yup!" Kokoro said with excitement. "My dad said I only had to sit there for three days and then I could sit wherever I wanted to!"

"You want to sit next to me?" Gaara asked quietly and unsure.

"Of course I do! You're my friend, Gaara," Kokoro answered honestly.

"But..." Gaara trailed off, trying to insinuate what had happened over the course of the three days. Kokoro waved it off.

"I'll tell you all about it when we go play."

After the very quiet breakfast, Kokoro beckoned Gaara to follow her to the playground. She sat on the ground and watched as Gaara warily sat in front of her. He stared at her and waited for her to talk first. His eyes were begging her to explain. He wasn't angry, just sad that she had treated him like everyone else in the village.

"I'm sorry, Gaara," Kokoro said quietly. Gaara gasped silently, shocked that someone would apologize to him. He listened as she continued. "My dad said I had to play with Kankuro to make his job easier."

"His job?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me. He just said that listening to the Kazekage would help him, so I did. I'm sorry."

"So, you only ignored me because you were ordered to?" Gaara asked with hope shining through his voice.

"Exactly! I would never ignore you, Gaara. Not in a million years!"