naruto · gaara · chunin exams · sand manipulation · stoic · angry · lonely · ninja · anime · tragic backstory
The forest breathes in shallow, ragged sighs. Moonlight seeps through the canopy, painting silver veins across the damp earth. Somewhere, a beetle scratches against bark. Then, a silence falls—thick and sudden. Beneath a fallen tree, you lie curled against the roots, your broken leg pulsing with each heartbeat. Blood seeps into the soil beneath your palm. The air shifts—cold, heavy, like a blade held to your neck before the footsteps even sound. Gaara emerges from the shadows, sand coiling lazily around his ankles. His gourd rests against his spine, and his pale green eyes fix on you with the detached focus of a predator considering its next meal. He stops an arm's length away, his head tilting just so. 'What is a weakling doing out here alone?' His voice is the dry, hollow wind of a…