Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 22 Maturing

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Night was already falling, but Gaara didn’t return home. He sat on the swing in the now deserted playground and stared at his feet. No one ever wanted to play with him. Why were the other children always so afraid?
Of course he knew the answer. He was a monster.
Sadly he stared at his hands. He had hurt someone again. He hadn’t meant to, but the boy had fallen. If his uncle hadn’t stepped in… He sighed. His father had given him another one of those disapproving looks. He had done that a lot lately.
Gaara didn’t look up when the swing next to him moved. There was only one person that would come this close to him out of free will.
“Why are you sitting here all alone?” Taryn kindly asked.
Gaara shrugged. “I’m hurt,” he said.
Taryn stared at him startled. “What? You’re injured? Where?” She eyed him concerned.
Gaara placed a hand across his chest. “Here.”
Taryn gave a sad sigh. “What happened?”
“He got hurt,” Gaara’s lip trembled, “I didn’t mean to hurt him. Now they’ll never play with me. Why nee-san? Why don’t they want to play with me?”
“I don’t know,” Taryn said sadly. She patted his head. “But no matter what,” she said, “you should always treat people kindly. Sometimes, people are afraid of what they don’t understand. It takes a lot of time to make them change their mind. Don’t worry Gaara. One day someone will see what a great person you are, you’ll see.”
Gaara stared at his feet again. He desperately wanted to believe that. Suddenly he had an idea. “Nee-san? Can I be nice to someone now?”
“What are you thinking of?” Taryn asked curiously.
“That boy I hurt… I want to give him some ointment for his wounds.”
Taryn smiled at him. “That’s a very good idea.”

 

Gaara hurried through Suna with a pot of ointment. He had a happy smile as he reached the house. Everything would be alright now. In his head he already pictured how he would become friends with this boy. And later he would become friends with the other village kids.
He knocked on the door and it was opened by the boy himself. Gaara reached out and offered the boy the medicine. “Here,” he said, “I’m sorry for hurting you.”
The boy glared at him. “Go away monster,” he said and closed the door.
Gaara stared at it for a long time. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He had apologized to the boy. He had even brought ointment. He had been kind. So why did the boy hate him so? The bottle of ointment slid from his fingers and shattered against the pavement, but Gaara didn’t even notice.

 

***

 

“Man I’m sore all over” Hiro complained. Next to him strolled Kuro and Daro and they looked just as broken. “Taryn-sensei is a real tyrant.”
"She just want you to improve your techniques,” Kuro said, “you’re already a lot better than when we started.”
“I know,” Hiro said, “but I’m tired.”
“We’re all tired,” Daro said, “but you have to admit, she’s an amazing fighter. One day I’m gonna be just as good.”
“It’s a little late for that,” Hiro said.
“What are you talking about?”
“When she was our age, she was already a Jounin, stupid.”
“Who are you calling stupid, stupid? I’d punch you, but I’m too tired!”
Hiro shrugged. “That’s okay. I’m too tired to fight back.”
Kuro chuckled. In the past three weeks they had grown closer and he had to admit, they were good company. It was nice to have friends. He still didn’t mind being alone, but it was good to have other people to talk with. He waved at his teammates when they reached his house. “See you guys tomorrow!”
“Bye Kuro!”
“Don’t forget that my dad invited us to watch him train the new birds this Saturday!” Kuro called. “We’ll be there!” Daro yelled back.
Kuro waved again and entered the house. It had been a rough day. Taryn-sensei was a demanding trainer, but she was fair and never pushed them over their limits. Instead, she let them set their own limits and then helped them surpass them. She knew exactly how to push them so they wanted to impress her. And it worked. All three of them had become stronger.
She had worked him hard too. Since genjutsu had hardly any affect on her, they had sought out ways to make him stronger. There would be more opponents that could resist genjutsu, so they had to find an alternative. It was hard, but he gave it his best. She had promised to bring chakra cards tomorrow to see what element would be right for him. He could hardly wait.
“Hello Kuro,” his mother said, “welcome back. How was training today?”
“Good,” he nodded, “Taryn-sensei has us working hard.”
His mother gave a faint smile. “I thought that might be the case. She hasn’t had it easy herself. She went through rough training when she was a child. Your cousin Kodan was her teammate during their Chuunin Exams. He told us a thing or two.”
Kuro looked at his mother curiously. “What do you mean?”
His mother shook her head. “I shouldn’t talk about those things. Who am I to question the Fourth Kazekage.” She smiled at her son. “No matter what people say, she’s a fine lass. Remember that.”
Kuro nodded. “She’s alright. I like her. We all do.” 
“I’m glad,” his mother said, “now go wash up. Dinner is almost ready.”