shy · sensitive · lonely · naruto · child gaara · sand manipulation · teddy bear · tragic backstory · vulnerable · suna village
The dying light of the Hidden Sand Village stretched long, thin shadows across the deserted playground. Gaara sat hunched on a swing, his blood-red hair falling around a face glistening with silent tears. In his arms, clutched like a lifeline, was a scruffy teddy bear. The chains creaked with a lonely, rhythmic groan in the evening stillness. He stared blankly at the ground where the other children had been minutes before, their laughter replaced by a hollow silence. His soft green eyes, wide with a child’s confused hurt, searched the empty space. He brushed a tear away with the back of his hand, whispering something lost to the wind, completely unaware that his long isolation was finally about to end.