Perfect Worlds (Naruto Fanfic)

World 2: Playing Coy

Making one wish turned his world upside down, yet Gaara found himself incapable of doing anything about his situation. His body felt weak; he couldn't pinpoint why beyond the fact he also couldn't hear Shukaku and something told him these were tied together. In the back of his mind he knew he should worry more regarding his current situation. Instead, he found himself falling asleep on the way back to Suna.

His seafoam green eyes flickered open as sunlight filtered through his eyelids. His entire body felt stiff, yet he found himself unaccustomed to sleeping for so long because of his insomnia. His head tilted towards the window from which the sunlight streamed while his mind finally contemplated his current situation, albeit slowly. His lack of awareness prevented him from noticing someone approaching his hospital bed.

"Gaara-chan!" The voice he didn't recognize made Gaara's heart beat rabidly. He found himself turning so he might look the person in the eye. A rather young looking person loomed over him grinning like an idiot while his red locks of hair were neatly brushed. The person leaned into his personal space. "Do you feel up to playing with Uncle Sasori?"

Gaara felt his chest tighten while his sand did nothing in response to the danger present in front of him. His eyes opened and closed a couple of times as his memory went over the information contained in the missing-nin's file. He felt his breath catch upon realizing he couldn't move. A familiar voice called out bringing some for of relief. "Sasori! What did I tell you about leaving Gaara alone? He's supposed to be resting."

"But I want to play with Gaara-chan."

"Gaara's not in any condition to play." Yashimaru appeared within Gaara's line of sight. The young teen watched his uncle push Sasori away, yet the fear rose up in the back of his head. Gaara glanced away at the window, wishing he might use his sand to shield him from the world. "Now that he's gone, how do you feel?" The young shinobi didn't feel like answering. "Gaara?"

Gaara tried keeping his head turned away so he couldn't look the man in the eye. In the world without him they were all three alive, but Sasori was – for some reason – not a missing-nin. Everyone also seemed much happier, almost confirming his suspicions regarding his own existence. With no Shukaku in his head he had no counter to his disparaging thoughts regarding his own self.

"Mind telling me how you got those scars?" Yashimaru's words made Gaara's hands involuntarily clench. After a few minutes of Gaara ignoring him, the man continued speaking. "How did you receive that injury on your chest and forehead? To be honest, I'm most concerned regarding the injury on your forehead as that scar looks like the kanji for love."

Gaara pressed his lips together. He wanted to say out loud he got the scar on his forehead when he killed Yashimaru; he wanted to tell the truth. For some reason, he instead kept his mouth shut tightly knowing full well he couldn't defend himself. The familiar faces in front of him were in fact strangers which made the situation even more discomforting.

He didn't expect Yashimaru to sit down on the bed next to him. "So, I might as well tell you what happened since you lost consciousness. We made our way to Suna and were met by Rasa and a few other the forth trusted. While I helped Karura back so she could rest in one of the other rooms – that's why she's not here visiting you. Actually, I think she'll actually start getting better with you around."

"Stop." Gaara felt the slight tremble in his voice when he spoke. He felt his thin frame start trembling.

"Gaara."

"I'm not the person she thinks I am."

"You are Gaara, right?"

"That..." Gaara clenched his seafoam green eyes closed. He remembered all to well Yashimaru of his world telling him how Karura cursed ever giving birth to him, yet this Karura was a stark contrast. "She doesn't know. She doesn't know I'm a jinchuriki."

"Are you referring to the fact you're not from our world?"

Gaara swallowed wishing he'd not made the mistake of answering. "Something like that."

"Anyways, Rasa brought you here. It's not often I see Rasa-nii worry like he did last night."

A pair of seafoam eyes narrowed and Gaara clenched his fists together. "You shouldn't get your hopes up regarding me."

Instantly he wished he'd not said something out loud, yet once he'd started talking earlier he couldn't stop being bluntly truthful. He found himself swallowing back his discomfort while trying to not care about those who were complete strangers despite having the familiar faces.

He hated the fact the faces were familiar; he found himself remembering the ache created by all three rejecting him, but hating the fact he craved their affection. Gaara didn't feel he deserved their love. Weakly, Gaara reached up and touched the scar on his forehead with one of his hands while his body trembled. For once he wanted Shukaku there calling him a fool, but Shukaku's voice was nowhere to be heard.

"You might not be able to go back. To your world that is."

Gaara sucked in a deep breath but turned and looked Yashimaru in the eye. He "You mean I won't be able to see Temari, Kankuro and sensei again? I won't be able to see my family?"

Yashimaru looked down at him with a rather sad look. "I don't know who your sensei is, but we've not informed your older siblings as of yet. I'm sure you'll be able to see them.