Gaara's Love

"Don't let my lack of strength fool you; Lord Kazekage specifically arranged for me to look after your daily needs and protect you at all times..."

Yashamaru paused there, his eyes curving into crescents as he added:

"So, please, do not do anything to hurt yourself in front of me. Besides, the sand protects you automatically! Even without me, it wouldn't let you get hurt!"

"I'm sorry... Yashamaru!"

Gaara felt a vague sense that he had done something wrong, and he lowered his head in silence.

"Does your wound still hurt?"

"Actually, it's fine. These minor scrapes will heal very quickly!"

Yashamaru looked at the bandages on his hands and continued to answer Gaara's question in that gentle tone of his.

"..."

Gaara suddenly furrowed his brows again and asked:

"Yashamaru... what exactly does pain feel like?"

Seeing a slight shift in Yashamaru's expression, Gaara hurriedly added:

"The sand... you know... I have never been injured, so I have no idea what pain feels like."

Yashamaru stood up and paced a few steps, seemingly deep in thought.

He scratched the back of his head and said in a hesitant tone:

"How should I describe it to you? Is it suffering, or is it sadness... regardless, feeling pain is not a good state to be in..."

Yashamaru's words were a bit incoherent, as if he were troubled by his inability to answer Gaara's question well.

Gaara listened to Yashamaru in silence, a flash of dejection crossing his eyes.

He asked tentatively:

"Yashamaru... do you... hate me too... just like the others?"

Looking at the eager eyes of the little boy before him, Yashamaru felt a complex mix of emotions.

He was still such a small child... this child he had always been with was so incredibly lonely!

He thought for a moment, then leaned down again, facing Gaara's helpless little face, and said with nothing but tenderness:

"People will always hurt others or be hurt by others to some degree in life."

Seeming to weigh his words, Yashamaru paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"But... people don't just hate others so easily!"

Hearing this, Gaara jerked his head up, his eyes sparkling with surprise as he looked earnestly at Yashamaru.

"Th-thank you, Yashamaru!"

But then, he fell silent for a moment before saying:

"I think I understand what pain feels like now."

Yashamaru was slightly taken aback, his confusion showing instinctively.

"Huh?"

"Does that mean I am hurt just like everyone else?"

Gaara's tone was very soft, but his eyes were filled with an indescribable pain.

His right hand slowly clutched his chest, as if his heart were bleeding.

"I always feel like it hurts here... even though there is no blood, I always feel... it hurts so much."

At that moment, Yashamaru felt a thick sense of loneliness and helplessness radiating from Gaara.

His eyes flickered as if he were thinking about how to continue the conversation with this child.

Slowly crouching down, Yashamaru reached out and took the dagger from Gaara's hand.

Sshhh—

Under Gaara's surprised gaze, Yashamaru maintained a gentle smile as he lightly sliced his own left finger.

Drip, drip...

Drop after drop of fresh blood flowed from his fingertip, splashing onto the floor in small crimson blooms.

Yashamaru looked earnestly into the boy's eyes, his own eyes curving into crescents:

"When the body is injured, it does indeed bleed, and it looks like it hurts, but this kind of pain will naturally disappear as time passes. If you use medicine, it will heal even faster..."

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He placed the dagger back on the table and then, just like Gaara, clutched his own chest.

"But the wounds of the heart are not so easily healed."

"Wounds of the heart?"

Gaara could not fully grasp what Yashamaru meant, his expression turning somewhat bewildered.

"Wounds of the heart are different from physical ones; they cannot be healed with medicine like a bodily injury..."

Yashamaru shook his head slightly.

"Sometimes, they can never be healed for the rest of one's life."

Gaara's right hand, clutching his chest, gradually tightened, and the light in his eyes began to dim.

"However, there is one thing that can heal the wounds of the heart!"

Yashamaru's tone suddenly shifted as he spoke.

"What is it!"

Gaara asked urgently, his voice filled with desperation.

He sensed that this answer was of vital importance to him!

Yashamaru smiled once more and continued:

"But obtaining this thing is not so easy; it must be received from someone else."

"That thing is... love!"

Young Gaara did not seem to understand the meaning of the word; he asked, looking somewhat confused:

"Then what must I do to obtain such a thing?"

Yashamaru smiled gently and reached out to pick up the photograph of Gaara's mother from the table.

"Lord Gaara, you have already obtained it."

Looking at the radiant, smiling face of his sister in the photo, Yashamaru's tone grew even softer.

"Love is the desire to sacrifice oneself for those most precious, to protect them with a compassionate heart."

Yashamaru pointed to the woman in the photo, and Gaara's gaze followed.

"Just like your sister did..."

Gaara stared at the woman in the photograph, silent, yet a flicker of longing appeared in his eyes.

Yashamaru continued:

"I believe your sister loved you very much, for Shukaku is a life form that exists solely for slaughter..."

"Yet the sand protects you of its own accord. That is because of love; I believe that within that sand... lies your mother's will."

At this moment, Yashamaru's face was filled with infinite tenderness.

"Even in death... your sister still wishes to protect you."

"Love..."

Gaara, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness, suddenly felt his awareness return to his body, and he slowly began to wake.

His eyes flickered as he looked at Kankuro, who was carrying him on his back, and then at Temari running beside them.

These two... were his brother and sister!

His throat felt raspy, and though he seemed hesitant, he finally spoke:

"Temari, Kankuro."

"...I'm sorry."

When those three words reached her ears, Temari's eyes widened in shock.

She turned to look at Kankuro and saw the same astonishment reflected in his eyes.

But soon, that surprise transformed into tenderness.

Gaara... seemed to have changed.

"It's... it's nothing!"

Kankuro found himself momentarily incoherent.

Yet, it felt as if an inexplicable strength had surged into both his and Temari's bodies.

Gaara... was their brother!