When Waves Meet the Sand

Though he knew it was inevitable, Gaara hated being separated from his angel.

Only Kumiko had ever managed to make the pain go away, to make him forget that he was a monster…

But to stay near her after sunrise meant to face her team, and while Gaara would never admit it, he was intimidated by the thought.

If they rejected him…

Would Kumiko?

That alone was enough to make the Jinchuriki retreat, wary of old pain.

Still, Gaara resolved to watch over his angel in secret, feeling worry for another human being for the first time.

Kumiko was so small and fragile…

Surely she would be injured by the resident Genin if the cruel creatures ever got it into their heads to harm her…

Gaara would not let anyone hurt his angel.

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The sun was desert-hot, waves of heat rolling up off the sand and distorting the air.

Kumiko wished for a moment to be in the South Pole again, with frigid air stinging her cheeks and her breath fogging on the wind.

Shaking the daydream away, guilty, she turned slightly to watch the children play.

Rei and Yei were on the swings, laughing and screaming in delight as they tried to swing higher than each other, while Tomoko and Benjiro were a safe distance away, manipulating the sand to make faces at each other.

Tomoko could not stop laughing, green eyes bright, and even Benjiro was unable to keep a small smile off his face.

Smiling gently, Kumiko settled down on a bench and sighed, beginning to relax…

Tomoko cried out in surprise, and Kumiko jerked upright as Benjiro literally growled.

A squad of Genin, proudly wearing Sunagakure hitai-ite, had arrived without Kumiko noticing, and one of the boys had smashed the little blonde girl’s sand construct cruelly.

“There’s no place for monsters here!” The kunoichi sneered, shoving Tomoko over harshly.

Already on her feet, Kumiko’s teeth ground together in outrage.

No one hurt her kids.

Eyes darkening, the Waterbender stalked forward, the corks popping out of the pouches strapped securely to her back.

The other boy, dark-haired and rather tall, pulled back his arm-

A wave struck him in the chest, sending the Genin tumbling head-over-heels, and Tomoko looked up, teary-eyed.

“O-Okaasan…”

Before the other two Suna nin could react to the sudden, pressurized spheres of water knocked them clear off their feet.

All three looked up, suddenly terrified, at the tranquil fury of a master Waterbender.

“Don’t-Touch-My kids.”

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For hours, Kumiko had been watching the young ones play, relaxed and happy, her aura brushing against the edge of Gaara’s senses and soothing him in return.

When he saw the squad enter the park and make a course for two of her charges, Gaara did not care to interfere.

He was there to protect his angel, not anyone else.

But when the younger girl’s sand construct was demolished, he immediately noticed a change in Kumiko.

She was suddenly upright and tense, eyes locked on the perpetrators in frozen incomprehension.

It was the kunoichi’s words that made his angel’s eyes darken to a midnight shade, and her aura turned cold as a desert night with outrage.

The sudden transformation from warm, caring angel to deadly, vengeful spirit nearly made Gaara’s head spin.

Regaining his senses once the Suna Genin were knocked down, the sand swirled up, transporting the Jinchuriki between the threat and his clearly-enraged angel.

His presence alone terrified the trio, who scrambled to their feet and retreated a few feet for a false sense of security.

Infuriated that they had upset Kumiko, Gaara’s eyes narrowed in a deadly warning.

“Leave.”

The boys, at least, seem more than willing to do just that.

It was the kunoichi that ignored her survival instincts and faked bravery.

“We don’t take orders from bakemono!”

That word struck a raw, bleeding nerve, and his heart constricted like it had taken a physical blow.

Bakemono…

Monster…

He would always be a monster…

“You take that back!”

Jarred back to reality, Gaara turned to stare at Kumiko in surprise, noticing how dark her eyes had become.

“Gaara-kun is not a monster!” She shouted, the faint tattoo of koi fish on the backs of her hands beginning to glow. “Take it back!”

The kunoichi, not sensing the growing danger, held her ground.

“No!”

“Take it back, or I’ll…I’ll…”

Closing her eyes, fists clenched as the tattoos glowed brighter, a wave of power escaped her body as wind surrounded the white-haired girl with a growing roar.

It was like standing in the midst of a sandstorm, feeling helpless against the brunt of nature’s power, and it made Gaara’s skin tingle as Shukaku shifted in the back of his mind, strangely concerned.

Finally getting the hint, the trio of Genin beat a hasty retreat, but the wind only howled more fiercely, uncontained.

From his position, Gaara felt the wind brush gently over him, like a soft breeze instead of the harsh gusts that he had been expecting.

“Kumiko.”

The glow died slowly, and the wind gave one last, soft howl before following suit.

Opening her eyes as the power ebbed, Kumiko looked up, eyes dazed.

Gaara relaxed at the familiar oasis color staring back at him.

After searching him for a long moment, soothing the raw wound in his heart, her gaze turned away as a blonde blur attached itself to her hip, crying.

Shushing the child quietly, Kumiko lifted her up with one arm, wiping away the tears.

“It’s alright, amai…It’s alright…”

Gaara watched the scene curiously, mind racing to understand what had happened.

Kumiko had put herself in harm’s way to protect that little girl.

Why?

Why would she go out of her way to keep these children safe?

Why would she defend him?

Looking into her eyes, Gaara found an emotion that he was unfamiliar with, something warm and intense and gentle.

Was that…?

Shukaku purred as soft, warm fingers threaded through his, the sand not even twitching to stop the contact.

Bright oasis eyes looked up at him, grateful.

“Thank you, Gaara-kun.”

Heart twisting happily, his grip tightened on her hand, palm tingling from the touch.

“Are they…precious to you?” Gaara wondered, stumbling over the word.

“Hai.” She answered without hesitation. “If they had been hurt…”

Gaara’s eyes narrowed in thought, brain whirring.

He did not want Kumiko to be hurt.

If the people precious to her were in danger, she would be hurt defending them.

So, to protect Kumiko was to protect her precious people and keep them happy.

…

Shukaku just would not stop laughing.

And what did he mean by ‘whipped’?