Cold Eyes || Gaara x Reader

||25||

Taking a moment, I force myself to focus and assess the situation before I got too happy and did something stupid.

Ok. I have good news and bad news.

Good news is my body is perfect, kind of, no wounds, not even from the Akatsuki battle, but I do have quite a few not so nice-looking scars. Thanks, Deidara, you better pray with Hidan that you never cross paths with me again or I'll give you matching ones.

Bad news is, I have no idea where I am.

"Guess the only way to find out where I am is to wander along the road," I mumble, closing the case and picking it up before starting to walk along the dust road. Of course, that's a very stupid plan, however, it's the best I've got so that's what I'm going to do.

As I walked, I noticed that to my right, the desert was approaching quickly. I move from the road and to the sand. It was hot and horrible, but I simply took a deep breath and forced myself forward. To get back to Suna, I must brave this slowly and increasingly unbearable heat that I'm one hundred percent going to regret walking through without a shader or something. Not even a hat.

I think I walked for about half a day when Sunagakure finally started coming into sight and I slowed my pace to a walk as I watched it start growing from the small dot in the distance and into grand walls surrounding the village.

The first thing I saw clearly we the walls, not unusual, I'd be more worried to not see the walls of the village. But it was the next thing that I noticed that worried me... on top of the walls were... a bunch of ninja... with weapons... ready to attack... me. Lucky me.

Don't tell me my existence in this world has been reset now I've returned again...

"Hold it, traveller!" a voice boomed loudly across the sand around me, I sighed and stopped, not really wanting to be the cause for the village attacking me and getting me killed in the process, "these lands aren't taking anyone in for a while. Please leave."

I just cross my arms and plop into the sand, my violin case sitting on the sand in front of me.

I refuse to move.

Nope. I will not move until they let me in.

I'll even die out in the sun before I willingly leave.

The sand started shifting beside me and I watch as feet are formed, then legs and then a hand which reached out and grabbed my own. Pulling me up from the sand and into a pair of arms that held me tightly, to my surprise.

For a moment, I just let my brain register what the hell was going on. It was only when I saw red out of the corner of my eye that I realised just who this was which then further baffled me because what the hell was this guy doing? This is so out of character for him!

"Gaara?" I called to him. I felt him put his chin on my head.

"It's me," he said even though... I already knew...

"Where did you go?" he asked me.

Where did I go?

I don't know why that question made me want to cry but I put my arms around his back, and I held him tightly back, easily finding myself comfortable in his embrace. It was just... comforting. Like I had a home here even if I wasn't supposed to be in this world.

"Well that is the question isn't it?" I joked, looking up at him, he had a sad but serious face on. But I quickly looked past that expression when I noticed the state of the man. His eyes had darker bags than I've ever seen before, is he aiming to become a panda in the near future or something? His clothes were a disaster. His hair didn't even look like he'd ran his fingers through it recently let alone an actual brush or comb.

What the hell happened while I was gone?

"Why're you a mess?" I asked before grabbing his face and rubbing my thumbs across the bags under his eyes, "have you not been sleeping?"

"I—uh—" he started, I shook my head and pulled away from him before grabbing his hand. This guy needs to get cleaned up and rest for at least the next two or three days. Who let him overwork himself like this? Were Temari and Kankuro not watching over them or have they gone mad?

"No, never mind that. I'm not saying anything until you get cleaned up and sleep," I told him as I started to move forward before pausing and reaching back, grabbing my violin and then continuing forward, dragging him back to the village with me.

Kankuro and Temari jumped down to the ground the moment we got into range. The blonde woman didn't even hesitate and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. Another warm and welcoming hug. How nice...

Once she released me, I looked her up and down. She also looked terrible. My gaze moved to Kankuro and I just raised a brow in confusion. He also looks like he's been dragged through at least four hedges backwards and then forced to stay away for at least a week straight.

Are these three ok? What the heck happened to them?

"You guys..." I started, not really sure what to say before frowning and forcing on a sweet smile before moving into a nagging tone, "time to get you to sleep. You all look like walking corpses."

Clearly they haven't been looking after themselves. Goddamn fools.

They looked at me surprised.

"It's not a good look on you," I finished, pushing them all into the village before bumping into Baki along the way.

"You're back I see?" he pointed out.

"Naw I'm in the hidden rain," I say sarcastically, "you really think I'd just up and leave?"

"I did actually," he replied, "a lot of people did, actually."

Huh?

I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Well for your information, I wouldn't," I tell him quickly before pushing past him, following the sand siblings to their as I now understood it, shared house. Once inside, we all sat on the sofa in a heavy silence. I was sandwiched in between Temari and Gaara, while Kankuro simply sat on a separate seat due to restricted space. Although, I'm sure if there was space, he'd be on here too.

"I thought you'd really just left," Temari was the first to speak, I glanced over to her to find her face pulling what I could only explain as a sorrow filled and overly relieved expression. I sighed and put my violin on the table in front of me. They looked at it curiously and I shook my head as if to say, 'not right now'. It's not important, I just don't want to carry it anymore.

I don't even know what to say to them about this.

How do I explain my apparent disappearance?

I was kidnapped? I remembered my home and rushed back? But even I don't know where my OCs home is. I didn't think to even try to find those notes from all those years ago before returning here. I now see that I should've looked for them.

I don't know what to say.

We all just seemed to sit in silence for a while, none of us really knowing what to say.

I was starting to feel a bit awkward after a while until I felt something hit my shoulder. I glanced down and saw red.

Gaara.