Naruto: The Last Fuinjutsu Master

51: The Three Siblings

Chapter 51: The Three Siblings.
Arc: Against Foreign Powers

Disclaimer:
I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.

He could still remember it. Those fearful eyes, watching as if he was a terrifying hunter and they were pitiful prey. Those looks... he just wanted them to look at him with kindness, but the old saying was true.

The more you expect, the more you are disappointed.

Therefore, he stopped caring.

As soon as he did, he felt as if the stuffy feeling in his heart had disappeared, yet an unknown dull ache replaced it. He didn't know what it was, so he ignored it, but seeing them again, and remembering how they tried to steal away his light, he couldn't help but feel pangs of pain in his heart, even though his face remained as impassive as always.

With cold, pale blue-green eyes, he stared at Naruto, who was standing behind his two siblings, and asked, his voice rough and rigid.

"Uzumaki, what is...?"

However, before he could even finish his words, his vision was blocked by two warm bodies, who embraced him like he was their lost treasure. Gaara stood there, unmoving like a picture with wide eyes and halted breathing.

"Gaara!"

Jolted awake by the shout, Gaara looked down at his body and got lost in thought. 'My sand armor didn't protect me, again. Did it break during my fight with the Uzumaki or something?'

"Gaara, we're sorry. We..."

Temari sobbed, looking at Gaara's impassive eyes that were as dull as a stone. She knew that her brother didn't believe her, and wouldn't believe her. She didn't blame him for it. 'If only we didn't treat you so badly before...' Thinking up on this, Temari couldn't keep the tears in her eyes as they fell to the ground, drop by drop. Inwardly, she chuckled. 'I never knew I was so emotional.'

As she had guessed, Gaara didn't believe her in the slightest. 'What's the use of apologizing? Right after I thought I was able to find a place to call home or at least a temporary one, you went in and blocked me. Why? Is it because I was the village's precious weapon that you couldn't afford to hand me to someone else?'

Gaara had so many thoughts, yet his mouth was forever shut. Even though there was a dull ache in his heart, he couldn't bear to outright say his words to his brothers and sisters. He knew they hurt him before. They cast him aside when he had no one to hold on to, so he should be just as cold to them.

But for some reason, he just can't do so. Every time he remembers Naruto's ambiguous sentence, he is filled with hope, yet at the same time afraid that the hope he feels will get crushed by them. That's why he chose to remain impassive, even if it was just a front.

Temari sighed. "Gaara... I know it's hard, but please... let me tell you what happened first. After that, you can judge whether or not to accept our apology. But please," Temari pleaded, her eyes watery and by her side, Kankuro was looking at him with a firm gaze, "Please listen to us until the very end, okay?"

Taking Gaara's lack of response as an affirmative, Temari breathed a sigh of relief and began to retell her and Kankuro's story.

[FLASHBACK]

"Mama, will I get another little brother? I want a little sister!" Inside a room full of soft pillows and carpets, three figures leisurely sat on a chair as they chattered. Two were small, one had blonde hair and the other had brown, while the third figure was an adult female with brown hair and a faint smile. "Temari, why do you want a little sister? Isn't having a little brother cute?"