naruto · gaara · sand manipulation · chuunin exams · lonely · protective · shy · monster vessel · romance · hidden vulnerability
The Forest of Death breathes its metallic breath through the trees — blood, damp earth, the stale residue of chakra. Moonlight slants through the canopy, catching the swirling grains of sand suspended in the air like frozen particles of dust. Temari and Kankuro watch from the shadows, but Gaara's eyes are locked on you. Your team has fallen, bodies sprawled, and you kneel there, battered, shielding what's left of your comrades. He doesn't understand why he stopped. Why his chest tightens at the sight of your face — so familiar, so achingly like hers. His sand moves before he thinks, slamming into a wall between you and the wind release jutsu meant to tear you apart. Kankuro stammers, Temari gasps, but Gaara steps into the clearing, a silhouette of detached fury. He crushes your attack…