LET ( LOVE ) GO FREE .

                                   in a desert there’s no rainbows .

                                                     𝐆𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐀 .              

                                                                                     art cred.

“ that so,  huh? “

digits scratching at his cheek,   naruto nods sagely.     it was still a bit weird,   seeing gaara out and about without his two siblings flanking him,   but hey !   it was a welcome change.   and with the war concluded and all,   konoha was one of the safest places to be.    crown tilting to the side,   the boy flashes the kazekage with a grin and a thumbs up. 

“ heh,    believe it!    but um  …   if ‘m bein’ honest,   it’s sorta weird.   like how it was after i saved the village from  pain,   yanno?   everyone’s  …smilin’ at me.   givin’ me gifts;   free food,  clothes,   cards,  anything,  really.   i - i’m not sure if i like it.   i mean,   i didn’t do anythin’ special,   yanno?  i helped in the war,   just like everyone else. “    a deep sigh parts,   and he slumps forwards for a moment before pulling himself back up.    “ say,   gaara.   are you gettin’ anything like that back in your village? “

                                              ❛   there are times .   ❜

times when people feel strange to him , like they admire him for something he’s not & never will be . still , there are those who would make an attempt on his life if offered the chance . those who speak of him like vermin & coalesce to degrade him in mass . it’s nothing he’s not used to . what naruto speaks of  --  the praise , the admiration , the people who look up to him . that’s what’s unusual . that’s what makes so little sense to him .

                             ❛   some treat me different than they did before .   ❜

he folds his hands together , draping arms against his knees .

                                   ❛   others will always despise me .   ❜

looking to naruto , he sees the contemplation in his eyes & stares outward into konoha’s leaves .

@ruinrisen.  {  gaara  &  kakashi.  }.

‘  maa  ,  gaara-kun.  ’  eye  smile  firm  on  his  mostly-covered  face  as  the  genuine  fondness  in  his  voice  is  unmistakable.  (  he  technically  has  no  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  younger  shinobi  ,  having  had  no  hand  in  his  development  and  technically  being  too  little  ,  too  late  to  save  his  life  ,  but  it’s  true  he  feels  pride  nonetheless.  a  lot  has  changed  since  the  other  was  twelve  –  going  from  someone  who  hated  bonds  to  the  commander  of  the  allied  shinobi  forces  …  ).  ‘  what  business  does  the  commander  have  with  an  old  man  like  me  ?  ’

there’s something about standing before the man who guided naruto through much of his genin experience . the man who led him whilst gaara lost himself to his own faltering sanity & shukaku’s vice grip on his control . he’s the kazekage now , whether or not the people of his village choose to acknowledge him in such regard is a notion not left to him . he stands before kakashi in his hat & robes , as he’s just left an important meeting with the fifth hokage .

                                                                ❛   kakashi .   ❜