Because I Love Him•||Gaara Fanfic||•

Chapter 4

"As usual Kakashi sensei is late" Naruto groaned. I nodded in agreement.

"Hey Zumi, I think there's something that you should know" I looked at him waiting curiously as to what he had to say to me.

"Gaara isn't who you think he is. H-he k-"

"Kills people? Well don't ninja have to get blood on his hands at some point in time?"

"No this is totally different. This guy kills people and he doesn't seem to care at all. You might think he's a sweet-"

"Naruto thanks for being so caring but I actually know about Gaara. Honestly, the past is an ugly story that we can't easily toss away and remake. You,me and Gaara, our pasts aren't necessarily the kind of pasts that we deserved but to move past it we must broaden our sights. You see Gaara as a murderer and a dangerous person. I see an adorable yet deadly panda who just needs to understand the importance acceptance. You've have my father, you have your sensei Iruka, you have your team mates and other friends. You've found satisfaction with the bit of acceptance you've received from them right? Don't assume that Gaara is a bad person. Don't judge a book by a cover" I exhaled sharply. What a mouthful I just let out.

Kakashi appeared and tackled me into a hug.

"Ow"

"Sorry" he apologized helping me up. He pulled me into a tight hug spinning me around.

"Congratulations on making it to the first round. I'm so proud of you Kazumi!"

I hadn't intended to let my tears flow freely down my face but I had no control over them. It seemed quite ironic to me.

"Thanks Dad" I sniffled. I glanced back at Naruto who seemed to be in deep thought. Our eyes locked briefly and then we looked away from each other only focusing on our current task, getting to the battle ground.

Kakashi announced to Naruto and me that we would assemble at the indoor battle ground since we had won the matches and then we would be informed about the final aspect of the exam that would declare who was ready to become a Chuunin.

Everyone with the exception of Sasuke was present to find out about the last exam and how it was going to be carried out. I saw Gaara and I immediately felt bad because I had upset him and I didn't really understand how I did that.

"Hey Gaara are you upset?"

As expected there was no reply. This only made me feel 10 times worse than I initially felt. Was my sympathy mistaken for something offensive? I asked myself.

"I'm really sorry Gaara"

"Why?"

I was confused now. Had he forgotten? Did he want me to specify the reason for my apology?

"Why apologize to me as if we're friends that had a fallout? I simply wanted to show you that you shouldn't underestimate me. To show you that if you thought I would succumb to you that you were very wrong. I've thought about you and I wondered why you would put so much effort to stop others from bothering me and try to prevent those negative thoughts from taking over me and I figured it was because you were trying to play with me. You thought that it was possible for us to end up fighting so that's why you suddenly wanted to befriend me. But now here we are, it's decided that I will battle Sasuke and now here you are apologizing"

I swallowed deeply unable to speak all of a sudden. He still thought of me as one of the enemies when it really wasn't so. I couldn't really blame him because it did seem a bit suspicious to suddenly want to befriend him but why did those words burn into my chest creating a wound that I deemed difficult to heal.

"It was my fault though" he said leaving me surprised.

"I let you believe that a bond could've been formed between us. I don't know you and you don't know me. The secrets within your mind I'm unable to see and vice versa. How could you think that we could be friends so easily? Then I realized Kazumi, that I was wrong about you"

What was this? How he was slowly breaking me down with such harsh words but slowly building me up with the last few words in his statement? It was so frustrating.

"Kazumi," he called stepping towards me. Had he stepped a bit closer to me, I would not have been conscious like I was now.

"You're naive and your naivety is what will endanger you if you're not careful. And that's why I was wrong about you. You're too naive and you thought that within a few hours we'd be the best of friends and that we would know so much about each other. Don't let your expectations over power reality or else you'll be disappointed all throughout your life"

Then he spun me around to face the board. I realized that my match had a question mark. That meant that it was unknown who I would be partnered with. I zoned away to Gaara's words. Why did they hurt me but at the same they mended me? Those words swirled around my mind confusing me even more. That short yet detailed conversation only heard by us that I would never be able to get out of my head.

I no longer felt his presence and it took me some serious self control to not spin my head to look at him again. He was right. I couldn't have expected us to suddenly be best buddies and eat candy. Life after all was but a reality. I had heard barely anything that I was told about the final exam other than the location. I couldn't even concentrate on anything anymore. I left as soon as we were dismissed ignoring the shouts that were soon out of hearing distance.

I went to the very bench where I had my first conversation with Gaara. When I sat down I felt the weight increase. I looked up and I couldn't help but shake my head at whom my eyes had just locked with.