Basketcase here! I hope you like this story. If you have any suggestions about what I should write in the next chapter (I kind of already have an idea) please leave a review! This was originally going to be a oneshot, but now I want to write more, lol. Enjoy!

~Basketcase

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"...is just something you should think about," Temari concluded.

Gaara sighed, wishing he was anywhere other than sitting in his Kazekage office, talking with his sister about the current subject. His face felt hot, and it wasn't because of the temperature in the room. "Is there anything else?"

"I have a suggestion," she said, as if the thought had just occurred to her. "Do you remember the two orphaned children living in Sunagakure?"

Gaara blinked and tried to recall their names. "Marini and Crispin?"

She nodded. "Apparently they're very frightened of you, Gaara. Both Kankuro and I think you should get to know them a little better so they're happier in the village. I don't think they have any friends or family."

Gaara pondered the idea for a minute. He remembered what it was like not to have any friends or family to rely on. But look at him now...the Kazekage, and respected by most of the villagers. Perhaps he would be a good role model for the orphaned kids.

"If I'm correct, the brother and sister are playing at the beach today. Maybe you could take a break and visit them."

That might not be such a bad idea Gaara thought, seeing as it had been a really hot day.

An hour later Gaara left his office and walked to the beach. The beach is along the only river in Sunagakure and is the source of the village's water supply. He cursed himself for not changing out of his Kazekage robes before leaving.

Gaara was surprised when he arrived at the beach; he had been expecting most of the villagers to be cooling off in the water. However, when the beach came into view he only saw three people.

I'm surprised it isn't more crowded–

His thoughts halted as he took in the sight before him. He recognized the two children: Marini was a young girl, only four or five years old, with black curls; Crispin was six or seven with brown hair just as curly as his sister's. Accompanying the brother and sister in the river was a small teenage girl with chestnut brown hair tied back in a damp braid, and wearing a yellow bikini top and black shorts. Gaara watched them splashing each other for a moment before he walked across the sand and sat down. He was surprised when they didn't notice him right away. It wasn't until the teenager shielded her eyes from the sun and did a double take as she spotted him on the beach that his presence was known. By this time Gaara was sweating under his kazekage hat and robes, his red hair damp.

The girl bent over the children, and Gaara thought he heard, "That's the Kazekage. Have you met him before?" Moments later they came trudging out of the water, and Gaara stood as they approached him.

"Good afternoon, Kazekage," the girl said and gave him a slight nod. "What brings you to the beach today?" Gaara thought she looked as if she wanted to kick herself for asking the question, and she didn't give him a chance to reply. "This is little Rini and Cris."

The little girl clutched to her leg as she spoke, and the boy stood behind her.

"What's your name?" Gaara asked as he peered at her.

"Me?" she asked, startled. "Amelia. Please call me Amy. If you want to, that is." Her cheeks were pink, as if sunburned. She whispered down to the kids, "Go on, say hello."

"H-hello, Kazekage-sama," Marini said.

"Please, call me Gaara," he said, ruffled by the formality.

"Our parents said you were a monster," the little boy said matter-of-factly. This received a blow upside the head from Amy.

"That wasn't very nice, Crispin. The Kazekage is not a monster."

"Please, call me Gaara," he repeated. "And it's alright, I can understand where they're coming from. I...didn't have the best childhood." That's an understatement.

Marini poked the girl's leg. "Amy, can we go back in the water, now?"

"Sure! Would you like to join us – Gaara?"

"No, thanks," he said hastily. "I appreciate the offer but I prefer the sand. I'll stick around and watch, though."

Amy blushed. "Alright." She led the kids back into the water. She squealed when they began splashing her, and Gaara wore the hint of a smile.

"Amy, Amy, pick me up!" the little girl shouted.

"Okay. One – two – three!" She picked Marini up and tossed her back into the water, causing the girl to giggle uncontrollably.

"Me, too! Me, too!"

"You, too?"

Gaara watched as she splashed and threw the children around in the water. When they began throwing mud at her, Gaara thought she would scold them. Instead, she shrieked and gave them a fake angry expression, and then began chasing them around the water with handfuls of mud.

Clearly exhausted, the girl then rinsed the mud off and spoke something to the children as she left the water. As she walked toward Gaara she called over her shoulder, "And remember, don't go past your armpits in the water!" She set her beach towel on the sand next to Gaara and flopped down, sighing.

"It looks like Crispin and Marini like you," he pointed out.

"Eh? Yeah, they're great kids."

"Are you a relative? I was under the impression they had no family."

"I'm not, I'm just a friend. I was around their current age when my own parents died."

That must have been about ten years ago, Gaara thought to himself. Amy didn't seem to want to elaborate on the subject, and Gaara didn't question any further. "I was also told they didn't like me, which seems to be true."

Amy chose her words carefully. "They're just nervous around you...apparently their parents filled their heads with ideas that you're a monster and that they should be afraid of you." Gaara remained silent and Amy changed the subject. "Aren't you sweating in your kazekage uniform?"

"Yes."

"Well, for starters..." Amy said and removed his hat, placing it beside them on the sand. "There, that should be better."

"Gaara!" Both turned around to see Temari huffing as she approached them. "I can't believe you came to the beach wearing your robes! Here." She tossed him some swimming trunks.

"Did you run all the way here or something?" Gaara asked and picked up the shorts.

"Yeah, a guard asked me where you'd gone in your uniform and then as soon as I found out you'd come here without changing –"

She seemed to notice Amy for the first time.

"This is Amy," Gaara said, realizing they required an introduction. "She came here with Marini and Crispin. And this is my older sister, Temari."

"Pleased to meet you!" Temari said and grinned. Then she whispered to Gaara, "I see you've been working on what we discussed earlier." Gaara instantly reddened, and Amy gave them a puzzled look. "Anyway, change into your bathing suit before you get heat stroke, for crying out loud! Again, nice meeting you, Amy."

"Nice to meet...you..." Amy trailed off as Temari walked away brusquely. "Well, that was nice of her to bring you a change of clothes."

She didn't bring me a shirt, Gaara thought. "I'll go change." When he returned he folded his uniform and set it on the beach sand. Upon returning, he found that Marini and Crispin were out of the water and had joined Amy in the sand. It looked as if they were attempting to build a sand castle. Gaara sat down with them in the hot sand.

Marini tugged on Amy's hand and whispered something in her ear.

"Why don't you tell him?"

Marini shook her head in reply and pointed at Amy.

"Rini says you look less scary without your kazekage uniform."

Gaara didn't know what to say and nodded in reply. Crispin still eyed him with suspicion.

"Now," Amy said, "I'm not very good at building sand castles, but let's see what we can do."

For the next ten minutes Gaara sat and watched as they attempted to make a small castle out of sand, mud, and twigs.

"I think this is as good as it's gonna get," Amy said and wiped her forehead.

"It doesn't look how I pictured it..." Crispin said, dismayed.

"That's alright," she beamed. "We tried our best. Rini, why don't you put the flag on top?"

"'Kay!"

Amy handed her the twig that was their make shift flag. As Marini put it on top of the castle, the sand dissolved and the castle caved in on itself, flattened. The little girl sniffled and then burst into tears.

Amy hugged her and tried not to laugh. "It's alright, Rini! It's just a sand castle...we can build another one if you want." Crispin looked as if he was on the verge of tears, too.

Gaara watched the brother and sister for a moment, then placed his palms flat on the beach sand. He instantly formed a massive castle out of the sand, complete with towers and turrets, and sustained it with his chakra. When he was finished he dusted off his hands and surveyed his creation.

Marini gasped when she saw it. "Woooooooow!" She jumped up and began clapping and laughing. Crispin stared at the castle with his mouth open.

"That's our kazekage for you," Amy said and winked at the kids. "He's the strongest ninja in our village!" Gaara felt his cheeks grow warm. "What do you two say?"

"T-thank you!" Marini said after turning to Gaara. Then she began dancing around the castle.

"I want to be a ninja, too!" Crispin said.

"You'll have to wait a few years before you can start training, but that's good," Gaara said and gave him a faint smile.

Amy grinned as the kids danced around the castle and cheered, but her smile faltered as something caught her eye. Gaara turned to see what she was looking at and noticed a boy their age walking across the beach toward them.

Amy stood and motioned for the kids. "Say goodbye to Lord Kazekage, now. I want you two to head home, now, alright?"

"But –"

"Cris, please take Rini home, now. I'll meet you guys later."

Crispin nodded and held onto his sister's hand. They bowed at Gaara and then hurried away.

"Is there a problem?" Gaara asked and stood up.

"There's going to be."

"Amy, been looking all over for you!" the boy called to her. Gaara couldn't quite interpret the look in his eyes.

Amy's hands balled into fists and Gaara could tell she was trying to hold her anger back. "Is something wrong, Clay?"

"Yeah, something's wrong, I couldn't find you all day."

"And are you responsible for knowing my whereabouts every second of the day?"

He ignored her question and instead turned to Gaara, pure hatred now evident on his face. "When did you become so chummy with the kazekage?"

"Clay," Amy warned.

"What exactly is your relationship with Amy?" Gaara asked.

"That's none of your business –"

"We're friends," Amy said, although she shot Clay a venomous look.

"Never mind that, what's your relationship with her?" he spat. Then he turned back to Amy. "Or did you forget that this guy is the reason both your parents are dead?"

Amy closed her eyes, and Gaara was overcome with shock.

"Looks like the kazekage didn't know –"

"Clay, I want you to leave, now."

"– after all. It's not like I expected Amy to say anything to you about it. I'll never accept you as our kazekage after what you did to her. Even though you don't have that monster inside you anymore you're still a beast in my eyes –"

"Clay!"

"– and I may not be a shinobi like you but I can still make you pay for making her suffer. I know Amy would never say it because she's too kind, but I know she hates you, too. Why don't you just leave and –"

Gaara watched as Amy drew her arm back and slapped the boy across the face with all the force she could muster.

"That's enough!" she shouted. "I don't need you to take care of me, Clay! I want you to apologize to Gaara for what you said."

"I won't," he said and wiped his mouth. Then he grabbed Amy by the arms and threw her down on the sand.

Dammit, Gaara thought. If I'd known he was going to do that I would've put up a sand guard around her. He hadn't expected the boy to hurt Amy because they were friends, but he made sure to soften the sand below her so she wouldn't be hurt by the fall. Gaara crossed his arms as Clay faced him. "I don't want to fight you. As the Kazekage I want to protect all the villagers in Suna. That includes you. I'm not proud of my past, and I'm trying to make up for it–"

"Enough talking!" Clay said and launched several punches at Gaara. Immediately his shield of sand rose up to protect him.

"Trying to fight me is pointless. My sand will protect me even with the strongest of shinobi attacks." Gaara stood his ground until the boy exhausted himself with his stream of attacks. "Are you finished?"

Clay stood where he was, panting, his arms by his sides. Amy rose from the sand and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just go home, Clay. I'll talk to you later."

He shrugged away from her hand and huffed away toward the village without another word.

"I'm really sorry about the things he said, Gaara." Before Gaara had a chance to reply she had collapsed on the sand and burst into tears.

"Are you hurt?" Gaara asked and knelt in front of her.

"No," she said and wiped her nose. "I'm just so upset with Clay and how he's been acting lately. I mean, he was my best friend when we were growing up, and now he's being way overprotective and acting like a big jerk."

Gaara could guess the reason he was acting that way, but the girl seemed clueless. "I can tell he cares about you." Amy sniffed but didn't reply. His eyes softened and he hesitantly asked, "Will you tell me what happened to your parents?"

Amy drew her knees up to her chin. "When I was six years old our house collapsed during the Shukaku's rampage through the village...both my parents and my grandmother were killed. I was pulled from the wreckage by a neighbour."

Gaara's heart constricted. That must have been the night when Yashamaru... "Why don't you hate me, Amy?"

"I did." He couldn't bring himself to look at her, but let her continue. "I did at first. But, after my parents died I – I secretly spied on you a couple of times. I thought you looked just like any other kid. And I saw you –" she began flailing her arms. "I mean, I didn't see you doing anything! Nothing, is what you were doing! Absolutely nothing!" She glanced at him and he stared back at her blankly before they both looked away. "Alright, I saw you crying. You looked like such a sad little boy, I couldn't stay mad at you. I knew it wasn't your fault. I thought maybe you needed a friend, and tried talking to you years later as you were walking through the village one day. But when I did, you gave me such a dirty look. I had the scariest feeling that you would have killed me if I'd tried talking to you. So, after that I stopped."

Gaara couldn't bear to look at her. The scene she described sounded exactly like an average day from his childhood. "There aren't any words I can say to describe how sorry I am. I have no excuses."

"Then you'll just have to make it up to me."

Gaara raised his head to look at her. Clearly she means a blood payment. "What are you suggesting?"

Amy rose to her feet and looked out across the river. "My demand for payment is...the next time you leave the village you have to take me with you."

Gaara nearly fell over. "That's hardly a repayment!"

"I know there's nothing that will bring my family back. And I'd never ask for a blood! But, my entire life I've never left this village. I've been too afraid to. The one thing I would love...is to see what else is out there."

Gaara stood and stared at her. "You're not a shinobi. I can tell because I don't sense any chakra coming from you. The next time I leave the village will most likely be a mission or an important meeting. It would be too dangerous to bring you with me. And you wouldn't be able to keep up with me or any other shinobi travelling with me."

Amy looked sadly over the water. She sounded hurt. "You're right, it was foolish of me to ask. You're too busy to take me along on a trip. So, can I ask one other thing of you?"

Gaara wondered what other demands she could have and nodded.

"Can I be your friend?"

Gaara's throat constricted and he found it hard to swallow. He couldn't understand why this girl didn't hate him with every fibre of her being. He didn't understand how she could be so happy all day around him, playing and laughing with the orphaned children, when he was the cause for so much pain in her life. Amy looked uncomfortable in front of him and he realized he had not answered her question. "Of course."