Home Is Where The Heart Is || Naruto Fanfic

Chapter Eight

Naruko rubbed her hands together, then held them out in front of her, an orange glow bouncing off of her and illuminating the area around her. She sighed softly and let a smile grace her whiskered face, the warmth of the campfire warming her body up. Her eyes then opened, and she reached over to her backpack, taking out a piece of paper with a seal on it. There were notations around it and Naruko's brows furrowed in concentration as she continued her work. 

Watching her, Gaara leaned back against the tree behind him, crossing his arms. Out of boredom, he watched the trees sway in the wind, listening silently to the sounds they made. It was moments like these that really made him curse his inability to sleep - when he was bored out of his mind. The boredom always made him feel the fatigue of not sleeping for the whole ten years of his life, chakra the only thing powering him on. It was ironic, really.

"I should be finishing fixing your seal by the time we reach Gokayama. Then you can sleep while I look around." 

"Sounds good." He wouldn't admit it, but Gaara was excited for the moment he would finally be able to close his eyes and fall unconscious without risking the release of the Ichibi. 

It had been two months since the redhead had left his home village with Naruko and the two had developed a kind of friendship. To Gaara, this was the closest he'd ever been with someone since Yashamaru's death and a small part of him was scared that this was a temporary friendship - that Naruko would fix his seal, then drop him off somewhere. Yes, most of him knew that she was way too nice to ever do that, but there was still a small part of him that was scared - she had, after all, said she didn't like him when they met, and still continued to distrust him for a long while. Even now, he knew Naruko didn't trust him much. Gaara didn't know why he was thinking like this but, when he thought about it, he realised it was probably Naruko rubbing off on him. His sister was right: leaving Suna and joining Naruko on her endeavours was probably the best thing for him. 

Gaara sighed softly and lay down on the ground, folding his arms behind his head as a makeshift pillow. He pulled his legs up and crossed one over the other, bouncing the foot that was in the air. He felt Naruko look at him briefly, then continue writing. 

"How long do we plan on staying in Gokayama?" Gaara asked Naruko quietly, leaning on his elbows as his sea-foam green eyes looked at the girl with crimson-tipped blonde hair.

"I guess..." Naruko tapped the end of her brush against her chin, then looked back at Gaara. "Probably around two or three days, so we can rest up and you can finally get some sleep, then continue travelling to Iwa. We may even stop by Taniku for a couple days. I could also spread a few more clones around and have them work as spies." 

"Have you already spread them around the Fire and Wind countries?" 

"And Water, and Lightning." Naruko added. Gaara nodded slowly. 

"So you've been to Kumo and Kiri?" Naruko moved her head in a motion of agreement. "Which Jinchūriki were there?" 

"The Nibi, Hachibi, Rokubi and Sanbi Jinchūriki." Gaara hummed, then looked back up at the night sky, listening to the crackling of the campfire. "Ne, Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"Your birthday is January nineteenth, right?"

"Yes, why?" 

"Just making sure." Gaara was going to ask again, but thought otherwise.