An Unexpected Friend (Book 1 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 3 - Sandy Adventures Part 2

Kokoro noticed the mood change within Gaara but waited until they were situated back at the playground to say anything. When they were seated opposite each other once again. Kokoro opened her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he shook off.

"I thought you liked my present," Kokoro said, trying to coax out the reason why he was so sad so suddenly.

"I do!" Gaara shouted out as fast as he could. He blushed when he realized he had raised his voice. "It's just..."

Kokoro waited for him to keep talking.

"It talked to me," he finally said.

"It?"

"The voice inside my head. It said I shouldn't be so happy. That I should hate everyone around me. It's always saying bad things to me."

Kokoro thought long and hard about who the 'It' could be. She remembered her conversation with her dad and realized Gaara must be talking about the one-tailed beast. But Naruto never said anything about his tailed beast talking to him. It could be because they weren't the best of friends, though. She liked Naruto, but she didn't get to see him much. He was always running around the village getting into trouble. She never understood why he wound himself into those troubling situations if all he did was get yelled at.

"The Ichibi?" she asked hesitantly. Gaara stilled and looked at her cautiously.

"You know?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And you don't care?"

"No. There's someone like you in my village, too. I play with him sometimes, too."

Gaara was quiet for a second before he spoke, "It says I shouldn't talk to you. It says that it doesn't want you near me."

"Can you ask why?"

"......it said you're just like everyone else. It says I shouldn't trust you."

"Does it have a name?"

"W-what?" Gaara asked incredulously.

"I just figured...I mean...." Kokoro puffed out a breath and looked away from Gaara. "Every living thing has a name. I figured it'd have one too."

".......Shukaku. Its name is Shukaku. He says he's a male."

"What does he look like?"

"He's a Tanuki."

"Can he hear me right now?" she asked in a hushed voice. Gaara nodded in affirmation. Although she was very nervous, she squared her shoulders and looked directly into Gaara's eyes.

"Shukaku, I know you don't know me and I know I just met Gaara, but he's my friend."

"He says you're lying. He says you left me all alone."

"I had to, but I never forgot about Gaara."

"He says you could've at least greeted me or talked to me."

"I'm sorry. I should have, but I'm only four. I make mistakes!"

"He says making mistakes isn't an option."

"Please, Shukaku!" Kokoro begged. "I promise to be Gaara's friend forever and ever!"

Kokoro looked into Gaara's eyes with helplessness. She wanted the Ichibi to be her friend, too, if it was inside of Gaara. She had to at least be on friendly grounds with him. He was a part of Gaara, and as Gaara's friend, she had to like every single part of him. Even Shukaku. She watched as Gaara's head tilted to the side in a cute manner that made her giggle.

"He says......okay," Gaara informed her with a small smile. She cheered outwardly and threw her arms around his form. She was surprised when the sand didn't react and allowed her to squeeze his frame with her frail arms. She pulled back and stared into his eyes again.

"There's one more thing, Shukaku. Can you be nice to Gaara when I'm gone? I don't know when I can come visit again and I don't want Gaara to be alone," she requested.

"He said he'll think about it."

"That's better than nothing."

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"Do you have to go?" Gaara asked Kokoro. They were standing in front of the gates leading out of the village. Kokoro was standing by her dad, her hand encased in his, and Gaara was standing opposite them by himself. Kakashi and Kokoro had already said their goodbyes to the Kazekage and the rest of the sand siblings, but Gaara wanted to see them off.

"I gotta get home. I have friends waiting for me to get back," she told him. He frowned and lowered his chin.

"Hey," Kokoro said as she shook her dad's hand off of hers and walked up to Gaara. She wrapped her arms around him and held onto him with all of her strength. She felt his arms reciprocate her actions. She pulled back and said, "I won't forget you or ever stop being your friend. I promised, remember?"

He nodded silently in response. She rolled her eyes and pecked his cheek with her lips. He froze up and stared up at her with surprised eyes. His cheeks reddened and a hand moved on its own accord to cup his own cheek.

"I saw a movie with my dad once, and every time the lead girl left, she kissed the guy on the lips. Daddy says I can't do that type of stuff until I'm older, but he never said I couldn't kiss you on the cheek. That's the seal to my promise, okay? And every time I see you, I'll give you a kiss on the cheek to remind you of my promise," she said.

"We are going to talk about your behavior when we get home," Kakashi grumbled quietly. Then he said, "We gotta go, Kokoro."

"I'm coming!" she yelled back at him. She hugged Gaara one more time before she ran to her dad's side and turned around to start their trek back to Konoha. Kokoro paused and turned around to face Gaara one last time.

"I'll write to you!" she yelled, "So, make sure you write back!"

"I will!" Gaara yelled.