T H E L O S T Y U N A

Eyes

Gaara's POV

Name: Amarante (Unknown Last Name)

Affiliation: Sunagakure, Hidden Sand Village

Current Ninja Rank: Jonin

Registered Ninja #: 050287

Date of Birth: Jan 13th

Age: 17

Height: 167.0 cm

Weight: 61.0 kg

Blood Type: O

Assignments Completed: 32 D-rank, 8 C-rank, 5 B-rank, 28 A-rank, 8 S-rank

Notes: Unknown Origin, Suspicious Entry into Suna, Unknown Sensory Technique, Member of the Stealth Anbu Division

It was just after day break as I sat in my office chair, rereading Amarante's file for what seemed like the hundredth time. After yesterday, I couldn't rid my mind of her shoulder length blonde hair, her brilliantly blue eyes, or the way her cheeks turned rosy when she looked at me. To see her standing right there, completely grown after all this time, it was enough to haunt me all night.

Suspicious Entry into Suna? Did father write that?

As I shook the thoughts of my father from my head, I let my eyes rest on her file's headshot. Her hair was shorter back when it was taken, with the end of her messy blonde hair reaching just passed her ears. Her face was doing it's best to seem excited as she posed for the photograph, with her mouth contorted into a forced smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Those eyes.

I slowly closed mine, frowning as the memories came flooding back to me. Those eyes haunted me for so long, filled to the brim with tears, desperate and fearful. Those blue eyes that held so much concern, so much remorse for the monster I was back then, even when she was about to be crushed by my hand. She extended more understanding for me in that moment, than almost anyone else had at that time. Because of that, they've been etched in my brain ever since.

Sighing, I opened my eyes once more to the papers in my hands, dispersing the mental images.

It's amazing how much time has changed her.

In the photo, she seemed so lost, silently screaming of a loneliness that I only knew too well, but in person the screams were nothing more than whispers. She learned to hide her emotions well while working with the Anbu task force. I almost found myself wondering if she would continue to behave the same way as my thoughts were interrupted by remnants of my memory of her. I felt myself sigh.

It was almost a relief to see her yesterday after so long, to know that my will to spare her paid off in the end. That scared and lonely girl was now a successful Jonin shinobi in her second year as a member of our Stealth Anbu unit. I let myself grow a small smile as I shook my head, amused by the rapid progress.

Amarante, 'the flower that never fades.'

It seemed her name was fitting. After that thought crossed my mind, I frowned. I hadn't found myself this calm in ages, and that made me suspicious. Why did this girl from my past show back up all of a sudden?

Temari.

I had a hunch that she was up to something. Temari has always been very perceptive, and back then when I met Amarante... Well, she knew that I struggled with the realization that I almost harmed yet another person that time. And she knew that for some reason, that particular encounter resonated with me the most, even if she didn't know why.