Chapter 60 Xiao Ai

This boy... looks just like Naruto from back then.

Haruko Hayama, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but think of Naruto Uzumaki, whom she had secretly observed before. He was often sitting alone on the swing, being kept away from and bullied by others.

Just as Gaara felt a sharp pain in his nerves and the ball slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, a soft, sweet voice rang in his ears.

Are you alone?

Gaara forced himself to calm down when he caught sight of the black-haired girl approaching him, his gaze pausing when he met her clear eyes, which showed no fear whatsoever.

Receiving no response, Haruko Hayama continued, "I'm Haruko Hayama from Konoha. What's your name?"

Upon being approached with kindness for the first time, Gaara's fingertips unconsciously tugged at the hem of his clothes, his eyes darting down and then up again to cautiously glance at her. "I... call me Gaara."

"Can I play with you? I'm so bored, I don't know anyone here."

"Of course!"

Gaara agreed almost immediately after she asked the question, his tone revealing eagerness. It was the first time someone had wanted to play with him, and he couldn't contain his excitement.

The girl's next question froze his excited heart: "Can you control sand?"

"I...I..." Gaara's lips moved, unable to admit it.

Sensing something unusual about his attitude, Haruko pretended not to notice anything and asked excitedly, "Are you particularly good at piling sand?"

As if stumped by the question, Gaara stared at her blankly before slowly nodding under her expectant gaze.

"Let's build a sandcastle!"

Haruko sat on the sand in the morning, huffing and puffing as she buried herself in piling sand.

She piled some up here, some up there, and looked at the uneven sushi her subordinates had created. She was silent for a few seconds, wondering why there was such a big difference between what she imagined and what she actually made.

Remembering that there was a teammate building sand next to her, Haruko looked up at Gaara.

"W-This is..." Haruko Hayakawa stared in disbelief, "What a beautiful castle!"

In fact, he could easily manipulate the sand to create the shape he wanted, but seeing Haruko's constant exclamations of admiration, Gaara pursed his lips shyly.

"Can you do anything else?"

Under Haruko's delighted gaze, Gaara raised his hand and directed the sand to pile up in the air into various detailed and realistic architectural structures.

Haruko clapped her hands like a seal in the morning, "Can they even make the Eiffel Tower?"

"Love...love Fei'er?" Gaara struggled to think of the word.

Unable to find anything matching the words in my mind, I felt I had disappointed my rare playmate. I lowered my eyelashes, and the various buildings floating in the air instantly scattered and fell.

Realizing she might have said something wrong, Haruko Hayama nervously leaned closer to look at him. "Gaara, I'm sorry."

Upon hearing the apology, Gaara's body suddenly stiffened. He didn't dare to look at her, and his questioning voice was barely audible, "Why... are you apologizing to me?"

"Because I think I made you unhappy."

Glancing at her creation, Haruko pushed a pile of unidentified sand in front of him. "This is the sushi I made. Can I use it to apologize to you?"

"Sushi?"

Gaara was drawn to this round yet square object, which looked more like coal than anything else. He was extremely pleased with the gift.

He carefully shaped it with sand, then held it in his palm. "Thank you..."

Haruko was surprised that he liked her masterpiece so much. She scratched her face shyly and said, "I'll practice some more and try to give you an even prettier one!"

"Um!"

"Xiao Ai, can I come find you to play together tomorrow?"

"Little...Little Ai?" Gaara visibly became flustered upon being given this title.

"You don't like this nickname? Then I'll change it..."

"I like it!" Gaara interrupted her anxiously, repeating softly under her surprised gaze, "I...like this nickname."

Haruko laughed, "Then it's a date, let's come here again tomorrow!"

Watching Haruko Hayama wave goodbye and leave into the distance, Gaara touched his heart. It seemed that when she said "See you tomorrow," his heart swelled with a wonderful, full feeling…

What does this feel like?

For the next few days, Haruko spent almost all her time with Gaara.

Even Yashamaru, who stayed by Gaara's side as a member of the medical team to take care of him, noticed that Gaara seemed very happy lately and often went outside.

"Lord Gaara seems to be going out quite frequently lately," Yashamaru inquired indirectly.

"Yes! I've made a friend, Yashamaru!" Gaara excitedly boasted to him.

The mere thought of the word "friend" was enough to make him smile, let alone proudly proclaim it to others.

Friend...his friend...

"Then Ai, you can call me Qingzi too! We'll be good friends from now on!"

Upon catching the words "good friend," Gaara's pupils contracted, and he became restless. He stammered, "Aren't you... afraid of me?"

"Why be afraid? Being able to control sand is super cool!"

Haruko...

Gaara's eyes were fixed on her, as if he wanted to fill his vision with her image.

Also taken aback by the word "friend," Yashamaru crouched down and looked earnestly at Gaara, asking, "Are you a child from the village?"

Gaara shook his head. "It's a girl from Konoha named Hayama Haruko."

"Konoha..." Yashamaru murmured.

"Yashamaru, I'm leaving now, or I'll keep Haruko waiting!" Gaara said hurriedly before heading out.

Haruko Hayama, who was waiting in the open space, spread her fingers and counted the number of days she had been there. It seemed like they would be leaving in two more days. It was rare for her to make ordinary friends.

Although Xiao Ai can manipulate sand, she can still become a very precious ordinary friend to her!

"Haruko—" Gaara ran over from a distance, laughing, and stopped in front of her.

To avoid surprising her friend, Haruko decided to tell him in advance, "Ai, we'll be finishing our trip and returning to Konoha in two days."

"What! You're leaving me?" Gaara unconsciously took a few steps closer to her.

"Because I have to go back to school, it may be a long time before we see each other again."

Worried that he would be sad, Haruko added, "But when I grow up and become a capable ninja, I'll come and take on missions from you guys, Ai, and come visit you!"

Going back... I won't be able to see him...

Each word he spoke echoed in his ears, and Gaara's already unstable nerves throbbed with pain. He clutched his head, trying to stop his wild thoughts, but to no avail.

I've finally met someone who's willing to hang out with me...

I finally made a friend for the first time...

Why did you leave me...?

******

The list of recipients of gratitude as of February 18, 2024:

grateful--

I love only the love letter I sent.

Flowers sent by Yun ×2

Aning, who likes poplar leaves; Zhang Guoguo from the natural village; Uncle Su; and Lin Yuya gave them the flowers.

The authors are Xiao Jiu, Aning who likes poplar leaves, Fengqin who loves spicy chicken noodles, G's Meow, Jin Xiula from Nanning, I love myself and only love myself, Xu Fei who loves sour plum ribs, Qinghuan Miaochuan, whoever calls for urine stains in a kettle, Zhang Guoguo from Natural Village, and user 28327941 who contributed this work out of love.

Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! Xiao Qingzi is sending you hearts online!

(P.S.: The list is in chronological order and was entered manually by the author. If any of your names are misspelled, please let the author know in the comments! Otherwise, the author won't see it. If anyone is missing, please let the author know as well. Thank you again!)