Gaara No Tanjoubi
By
Tanuki:
A racoon-like canid found in Asia. It has large testicles, which in Japanese
mythology, the tanuki often uses as an impromptu drum. In fact, tanukis just
mate a lot.
Sabaku no Baara: Bara is the Japanese word for rose. Ino's playing on the similarity
in sounds. Baara's not a real word.
The
sun was shining on the Fire Country’s number one ninja village, Konoha-Gakure
no Sato. Sabaku no Gaara found himself wandering the
streets of the village, which were nearly empty in the early hours of the
day. The air was crisp and cool but Gaara hardly noticed. Something
that could be partially blamed on the thin shell of sand covering his body.
But he was also again lost in his thoughts which were a constant battle between
his sanity and the Shuukaku’s will to be free.
For
a moment he paused as he passed Uzumaki Naruto’s favorite haunt: Ichiraku
Ramen. The boy sang the praises of ramen and this particular restaurant’s
dishes. He looked through the crack of the curtains and peered inside, but
Naruto was not there, something to be expected so early in the morning. Gaara
was set to continue when the sand flew up to protect him from a deadly kunai
aimed for his chest. He hardly flinched as he was used to numerous murder
attempts.
However this one was different, there was no
follow up attack and there was a note attached to the tip of the kunai. Gaara
snatched the note from the air through the sand and opened it. The top part
was in a neater scrawl than the bottom which was slightly skewed to the right.
It read:
If
you know what’s good for you, you’ll come to the training grounds at noon.
It’s time that you got what you deserved.
The
Sand shinobi looked up towards the direction of the assault and clenched his
fist. He walked away, wordlessly leaving two shadowed figures in the trees.
They were not sure whether or not they were seen but all the same they remained
motionless until Gaara was well into the distance.
“Do
you think he’ll come?” asked the cloaked figure in blue. “It’s hared to tell
with that guy,” he muttered under his breath.
The
green cloaked figure stood up from his crouch, head turned in the direction
of the retreating Gaara. “I don’t know but if he comes, we’ll be ready for
him.” With the speed of well-trained ninja, they disappeared with no trace.
(^._-^)/
The
training grounds were empty today. There was no training for students scheduled
today. The wind blew a few leaves across the field but there were no other
indications of life. Gaara was slightly disappointed at the lack of traps
laid to do him in but this was a complete insult. He went out of his way to
come here and for at least three minutes he encountered nothing more aggressive
than a fly.
He
clicked his tongue in disgust and made a move to leave to halted
as he realized there was a presence behind him. He waited for a moment then
settled back into his typical stance of nonchalance, arms crossed.
“Gaara
of the Desert…” Gaara said nothing. “I’m glad you came.” Still Gaara said
nothing. He was not interested in small talk. “… Because of your father, you
have been given a great power, but because of this power many have suffered…”
Gaara
closed his eyes. The lecture before the self-righteous attack. Most were more
arrogant and expected him to be another weak child. Sadly mistaken, such fools
were no longer among the living. However, this was a slightly new approach.
But it didn’t matter, as with all other fights it would end the same.
“Many
have suffered… Yourself included.” The last was said strongly and Gaara clenched
his eyes tighter involuntarily. A mental attack?
He wasn’t interested.
“If
you’re just going to talk, I’m leaving.”
“Would
you rather fight?” the mysterious assailant said with a hint of humor. This
is why the sand wielder came; to fight. He was ready as the assailant jumped
into the air and pulled out several smoke bombs. A cheap trick but Gaara’s
sand would protect him without fail, even if he couldn’t see the attack coming.
The
field filled with smoke but Gaara didn’t so much
as cough. Arms crossed, he patiently anticipated the next move but as the
smoke cleared nothing happened. What was the plan? Would there be more fighters?
Did he seriously think that an army would take him down? Gaara smirked at
the idea. Now he was interested.
However,
when the smoke was little but a thin veil, Gaara dropped his arms and stared
a bit wide-eyed. There were tables filled with food and drink and decorations
everywhere. It was almost an entirely different scene than a few minutes ago.
Falling from the sky like cherry blossoms were sparkles and streamers. But
perhaps the most shocking decoration of all was a large banner that in bright
letters said, “Happy Birthday Gaara!”
A
crowd of Konoha’s genin were
there. Some Gaara had previously met like Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha
Sasuke. Others he was less acquainted with such as Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka
Kiba, and Yamanaka Ino. There were even some of the more prominent figures
of Konoha: Hatake Kakashi, Fifth Hokage Tsunade, and Iruka. But
why? Why were they here? Why the death threat, the intrigue? Why…the…giant
cake??
“It’s
you birthday! It’s a party!” Naruto said exuberantly, tossing the hood of
his costume back. He was grinning madly. “I told Sasuke that you couldn’t
resist! I told him!” Sasuke snorted derisively and turned his head from Naruto
in distaste.
Gaara
hadn‘t moved. He was still on edge. “My birthday?” he said in confusion.
Kankuro,
his elder brother, had a party favor clenched in his teeth and a silly hat
on his head. “What? You forgot your on birthday?” To punctuate his sentence,
he blew the whistle in his mouth, unrolling the paper and causing the tassles
on the end to flap wildly.
“Gaara? You’ve never really celebrated your birthday have
you?“ Temari had on a silly hat as well. Her expression
was apologetic. She always had sad eyes towards him. Gaara shook his head,
relaxing a bit.
Naruto
rubbed the back of his head. “Well…I’ve never really had parties either. I
think Iruka-sensei gave me stuff but it was always lame and babyish…” This
prompted a nasty look from Iruka but it was quickly dispelled with the next
comment. “But… I always appreciated it deep down inside.” Naruto felt the
weight of a large hand on his shoulder. His teacher and mentor looked down
at him with a warm smile.
Temari
looked over at Gaara. The warm moment reminded her younger brother of sadder
times. That kind of love he never really knew and deep down inside it left
deep scars on his mind and heart. That’s why she was always so sad for him.
Sakura also noticed and felt the same way.
I always found him so creepy and strange. When Naruto
asked me to do this, I didn’t understand but… there always seems to be someone
softer under those cold exteriors. She looked over to Sasuke, who was stealing a sushi roll from the table
in boredom. She grabbed a party hat from the table and walked over to Gaara.
Her heart was beating faster as she approached him. He was so unpredictable,
like the sand that always surrounded.. But as she
slipped the hat over his bowed head, no sand rushed up to stop her. Gaara
lifted his head but instead of the serious eyes he always wore, he looked
like a shocked and confused boy. She smiled and adjusted the hat, giving him
her biggest smile. “Happy Birthday, Gaara-kun!” She
gave him the ‘V’ for victory sign and backed off a ways. Gaara looked up as
if to look as his hat but, of course, he couldn’t see it.
Naruto
rushed to Gaara’s side and declared that is was present time. Rock Lee raised
his hand dutifully. “Please allow me to go first!!” He stood up and approached
Gaara as though he were handing in a very important report. “Gaara-kun, please
accept this gift.” He shoved a book with a red ribbon around it at Gaara.
“This is a very good book on geology. Since you can use sand, I hope you can
find some useful information in it.”
Gaara
regarded the book. He knew he would probably never open it once but when he
looked at Rock Lee, he realized that there was a genuine desire in the taijutsu
specialist’s eyes that he was being helpful. Whether he wanted to or not,
Gaara couldn’t bring himself to tell Rock the truth, but what should he say?
He
felt a nudge in his ribs. Naruto leaned over and whispered. “Thank you.” Gaara
blinked at him. “You say, ‘Thank you’, ya know.”
“Ah!
Tha-thank you, Lee. It…it means a lot.” Rock grinned
and gave him a thumbs up. Gaara raise his hand and made an awkward thumbs up back. Rock punch
the fists together lightly.
“Sometime,
let’s train together!” Gaara nodded.
Sakura,
emboldened by the hat ordeal and not one to be shown up by Fuzzy Eyebrows
was about to walk forward to present her gift when she was intercepted by
a blonde blur.
“OH!
GAARA!” Ino squealed. “Let me go next!” Something
in Sakura snapped and Ino’s ponytail was being yanked back.
“MOVE
IT, INO-PIG! I was next!”
Ino
retaliated by pulling on Sakura’s cheeks roughly. “GET YOU HEINOUS FOREHEAD
OUT OF MY WAY! I’M NEXT!” Gaara had no idea what was going on but everyone
else looked exasperated except for Temari.
“Look,
Kankuro. Those girls are fighting over our, Gaara!” She wiped away a little
tear of pride. Kankuro, however, was dubious and perhaps a little jealous.
He simply snorted. Shikamaru, standing at Temari’s side, shoved his hands
in his pockets, bottom lip prominently stuck out. Ino
doesn’t even KNOW Gaara. Why is she acting like an idiot? Pft, women make
no sense. Troublesome…
Suddenly, Sakura’s fist in Ino’s cheek and Ino’s
in Sakura’s gut, the two stopped and looked behind them. Naruto was looming
over them, cracking his knuckles. “Oi….What….are you…doing?”
Sakura
immediately backed down, bowing. “Sorry, Naruto!
It’s just that INO-…Ah?” She looked around for Ino, who was just there but
was suddenly gone.
In
fact, Ino was attached to Gaara’s arm, with her free
hand she held something behind her back. “Gaara-kun, when I heard it was going
to be your birthday, I just HAD to make you something special.” She pulled
a potted flower from behind her back. It was something like a large rose balancing
on a delicate stem.
“It
looks fragile but it’s really sturdy. I grows well
in sand and warm areas. I thought it was so perfect for you, that I gave it
a very special name. It’s the ‘Sabaku no Baara”. Get it?”
Sakura
scoffed. Deep inside she was screaming. “LAME!
INO-PIG and her STUPID FLOWER ARE LAME!!!!”
Gaara
nodded, sweating slightly. Ino was strange. “Ah….thank you.”
Smugly, Ino took her place by a table, wallowing in her slight victory. Sakura, the wind taken out of her sails and
replaced with a little steam, approached Gaara.
“I
made this for you. It’s not as dangerous as the real thing but…” She held
a medium sized package up to him. Gaara took it and unwrapped
the paper. Inside was a duffle bag, that was nearly
a perfect replica of the gourd on his back. Sakura had stitched everything
right down to the symbols on to it. Gaara
was shocked. It was a very nice gift…But… He remember
back to his first real encounter with Sakura. She was on the receiving end
of his fury. Why? Why did she give him a such a nice
gift?
When
he looked at her she was smiling kindly. There was no malice in her face at
all. He looked down a little ashamed. Sakura notice and leaned in. “Hey, no
frowns on birthdays. It’s the number one rule.” How did she manage to look
so much like Yashamaru…! He forced a very small smile and nodded.
“Thank
you…” She nodded and backed off. Naruto was grinning at him. But it was the
kind of suspicious smile of someone who is up to no good. Gaara put down his
other gifts on a nearby table, never taking his eyes off of the boy who somehow,
knowing the pain of loneliness, always managed to smile through it.
“Hey…”
Naruto snickered. “You know your demon?”
That
was a stupid question. “Yes.”
“It’s
a tanuki, right?”
That
was another stupid question. “Yes.” Naruto tried to hold in his laughter but
did so poorly. The blonde shinobi of Konoha village held up a boxed gift.
Gaara took it and gingerly unwrapped it. Nothing
happened. It was a simple white box. So, tilting the opening away from his
face (it might explode) he opened the top. Nothing happened. When he looked
inside he saw a smiling plush toy tanuki. A far cry
cuter than Shuukaku, for sure. But when he pulled he
out, he saw why Naruto loved it so much. True to tanuki form, the toy had
irrationally large plush testicles, which the tanuki was drumming on.
Naruto
reached over and squeezed a testicle and the toy started to play music. Gaara
looked mortified. Next thing Naruto knew was getting drop kicked by Sakura.
“PERVERT!!! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF GIFT IS THAT!?”
Sasuke
sidled over to Gaara and plucked the toy from his hands. “Moron,” he said
with disgust. “Let me…’deal’ with this…..’thing’.”
Gaara
felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and Temari leaned over from the other side.
“Our turn, little brother.” Kankuro was looking smug.
A lot of people were feeling creative about gifts, it seemed. Gaara looked
over to Naruto’s twitching body on the ground. For better or worst….
“Hey,
do you remember the stupid-beAH….” Kankuro felt a pinch on his arm. Temari
glared at him. “I mean…that…stuffed bear of yours, from when you were little.”
Gaara
nodded. “Yeah. I lost is sometime ago…”
“Oh,
no you didn’t! Dad took that thing and set it on fire!” Gaara looked like
someone had just punched him in the groin. Temari cracked Kankuro on the skull.
“MORON!”
She immediate went about damage control. “Well, at any rate, we decided to
get you a new bear. It’s much better I think! So without
further ado!” She pulled a sheet off of a giant plush bear. But unlike,
Gaara’s plain dodongo of the past, this one had been dressed up to look like
him. However, Temari looked a bit shocked.
“What…..the….hell….”
She was staring in morbid shock at the giant claws that had somehow found
their way onto her design.
Kankuro
rubbed the knot on his head. “I decided to jazz it up. I mean it was too adorable.
Gaara’s almost a man now. He needs a man’s
bear. So I got rid of the cute eyes, added some artillery. It’s awesome now!”
Temari
started shaking. “Didn’t…I tell you…not to touch it, Kankuro?”
Kankuro
gulpled. “Yeah but…”
“I
gave you….specific orders not to lay a FINGER on this bear, didn’t I?”
“Well…yeah
but…”
Temari
smiled sadistically and grabbed her fan from behind her. She heaved it about
her head. “THERE ARE NO BUTS, NO EXCUSES!! ONLY PAIN AND
JUSTICE!!!” With that, she clocked Kankuro again on his skull. Shikamaru
looked shocked for a second then rolled his eyes.
Naruto
chuckled and looked over at Gaara. His head was bowed and he was shaking.
Naruto hurriedly tapped Sasuke on the shoulder. Sasuke looked alarmed. Soon
all eyes (except for Kankuro’s) were on Gaara. When Gaara put his hand on
his head, there was an intake of breath. Was the Shuukaku ready to explode?
Perhaps the party was about to be put to a violent end…
But
Temari leaned in a little closer, Gaara was making soft noises. “Gaara…” A
sparkling tear squeezed through Gaara fingers as he looked up. His face was
wet but he was smiling. No one could believe it and they all moved in closer.
Gaara
started to…laugh. “Thank you all…so much.” He clenched his chest over his
heart. “I think…I think I understand…I feel warm inside. It’s not heavy and
it doesn’t hurt…I think…I feel happy.” Naruto blinked then grinned.
“WAAAHOOO! YES! I ROCK! I AM AWESOME! I HAD A GREAT IDEA!!!!!”
But his victory was cut short by a punch from Kakashi.
“Show
off.”
Naruto pouted but only for a second.