[Naruto] A Faint Smile Beneath Clearing Skies

Actually, sunny days are lovely. The sunlight feels so good on your skin.

Mo Yu thought she belonged there and would live an uneventful life. Who knew that when she was five, she would meet a boy named Gaara and become his friend?

Everyone in the village called him a monster. Little by little, Mo Yu came to realize that Gaara wasn't frightening; he only wanted to protect himself. He wasn't happy, either; he was lonely. And he wasn't a monster at all. He was just a child.

Though Mo Yu's life was uneventful, she still left when she was six. At eight, she grew up once more, and at twelve, she finally saw him again.

She disappeared from Gaara's life, only to appear once more, and then disappear again.

After that, Mo Yu stayed with Gaara for several years. She watched him change, watched him grow up, watched him become the Kazekage.

When she was sixteen, Mo Yu saw that the boy she had teased back then had grown up. They had taken different paths, and it was time for her to live by her own choice, too.

War brings sacrifice; love is its own reason.

The words Mo Yu remembered most weren't particularly remarkable, but whenever they came to mind later, she would smile.

"I'm not the same demon I used to be, because now I understand what love is."

Gaara was no longer a demon, no longer a monster. He was the Kazekage.

And war was so cruel.

Mo Yu had a poor memory, but she remembered the last words she said. They were probably her confession. She was waiting for the next sunny day to come, in another dimension.

"Because I love you."