Naruto: If I ask you to kill Sasuke, you will become a succubus?

I grabbed my collar and took a deep breath. Although I wasn't short of oxygen, I subconsciously felt that I needed to breathe harder.

Gaara confirmed, "You felt it."

"Then what I'm feeling now...can you feel it too?"

Gaara nodded.

He thought all this was done by his mother...?

Did he ever doubt me?

I asked tentatively: "So what do you think is the relationship between you and me now?"

As I finished speaking, Lord Kankuro coughed suddenly and said, "Um... Temari and I will go investigate the surrounding area!"

They turned around and left quickly, as if there was some evil spirit behind them taking their lives.

Suddenly, the only people left were me, Gaara, and Sasuke, who was held in the air by his sand.

Gaara said: "You are the friend my mother gave me."

"Your mother really... must want you to have many friends, but friends are not something that can be forced." I have personally experienced this, so I have a say in this. "You still have to make sure whether you can get along with the other person, whether you have common interests, whether you have endless topics to talk about when you are together, and whether you feel comfortable..."

"..."

"What I mean is... do you feel forced and uncomfortable talking to me, or being with me?"

"I understand what you are saying. There is no need to explain it a second time."

If a stranger said this, it would sound like a cold rejection or ridicule, but I could feel that Gaara was very calm. He was just expressing his thoughts directly without any other meaning.

"Sorry, I often need more detailed explanations from others, so when I talk to others, I am used to..."

"I know you've always lacked common sense." After that, he added, "But that's not your fault."

"…What on earth do you know?"

I know better than anyone what he knows, but in order to pretend that I know nothing, I have to ask this question.

"I spent six years of your life in your memory."

I didn't expect him to have nothing to hide. I was stunned: "Six years?"

"Well, I saw you eating ramen with Uzumaki Naruto, squatting with Aburame Shino to look at bugs, delivering a notebook to Uchiha Sasuke, and having a love partner...

In the actual combat exercises in the ninja school, you always lose to Uchiha Sasuke. Your teacher, Hatake Kakashi, rushes back to participate in your school sports meeting. You and Naruto encounter an avalanche during the snow field exercise. You think that if something happens to you and Naruto, there will be someone to take care of you, but you don’t know who can notify Uchiha Sasuke if something happens. You have always cared about Uzumaki Naruto, but you are most worried about Uchiha Sasuke... Chaolu, you hate lying, but you have been living a huge lie from the beginning. "

"Why are you suddenly judging me as if you know me so well?"

"Because at this moment, we are the people who understand each other best in the world."

I couldn't refute this, but the reason why he was so calm was probably because he felt that he was unilaterally familiar with me, so he was standing in my superior position. If I was unilaterally familiar with him, he would only feel that he was standing in my position, and I would probably be more cautious and alert.

It is always easier to pretend to be alert and vigilant and let others strive for and gain your trust than to deal with others' alertness and vigilance and strive for and gain others' trust.

"So what do you want?" I asked, "You can't always take me and Sasuke with you, right?"

"What are your scrolls?"

"Didn't you say you've seen my six years of memories?"

"I didn't see all of your memories. The last thing I saw was you walking into the examination room for the first exam, and Kakashi didn't pat your shoulder." Gaara said, "I didn't see me in your memory at that time. It seems that you didn't notice me at all at that time."

"There were so many people in the classroom at that time, and I couldn't see everyone clearly... By the way, is it my illusion? I feel that you mentioned Kakashi-sensei many times. Did you do it on purpose?"

"No. Maybe you care a lot, so you think I mentioned it many times." Gaara said, "If you feel more at ease knowing our situation first, we are the Book of Earth."

I:"……"

Gaara reacted immediately: "You are the Book of Heaven?"

"……Um."

Gaara glanced at Sasuke, then back at me, "I'll have Kankuro give you our scroll later."

I looked at him in surprise: "Why do you do this?"

"Rather than letting you worry that I will take away your Book of Heaven, I would rather give you our Book of Earth. I think you may feel more at ease this way."

"So, why...?"

"Friends give each other gifts. But right now, I have nothing else to give you as a gift."

"…Do you really want to treat me as a friend?"

"Yes. But I also know that just because I want to be friends with someone, that person will not necessarily accept me." Gaara lowered his eyes and said, "No one has ever accepted my gift."

"! It's too unfair for you to say that!" Because I have seen his memory, I know that everything he said is true. I saw how carefully he held the gift and how hurt he was after being rejected.

"But if that happens, your team won't have any scrolls left."

Gaara said: "It's okay, aren't there still a lot of scrolls here? I just hope you can accompany me without any pressure."

"As a friend?"

"Yes. I'm afraid the time we can spend together won't be long. I hope you can stay by my side forever."

"Normally, you told me this so frankly, as if you were very sure that I was not a threat to you and could never hurt you. Do you... look down on me?"

"No, I am well aware of your strength." Gaara said, "But I know your character even better. I don't underestimate you, I just know that you are not someone who would maliciously hurt others."

At this time, the slightly cautious voice of Kankuro-sama came from not far away: "Um, Gaara...are you guys done talking?"

Gaara said, "Hmm," and said, "Come here for a moment."

Kankuro-sama and Temari came back slightly stiff.

Gaara held out his hand and said, "Give me the scroll."

Lord Kankuro was a little confused, but he still asked the puppet behind him to spit out the scroll.

Gaara turned around and handed it to me.

Lord Kankuro: "!?"

Temari: "!! Gaara?!"

"This is a gift." Gaara said, "Consider it...an apology for the harsh words I spoke to you before."

I took the scroll under the gazes of Kankuro-sama and Temari who saw a ghost, and whispered, "Could you be a little more polite to Kankuro...kun?"

"Do you care about him?"

"Ah? No, but he's always been very polite when he talks to you, right? But you always seem to be very fierce when you talk to him."

Gaara glanced at Kankuro-sama and visibly startled him.

He looked at me again: "Aburame Shino is your love partner... Do you like the type who covers their face so that you can't see their original appearance?"

Lord Kankuro stood aside and uttered a weak and confused "Huh?"

"These two situations are different, please don't confuse them." I put the scroll away, hesitated for a moment, and said to him: "As a return gift... I want to help you get other scrolls, but can you please not attack the people of Konoha?"

Gaara is very strong, so strong that he doesn't need help from me or anyone else, so I said that I "want" to help.

"Return a gift..." Gaara silently repeated the word, his expression feeling a little strange, and a little curious like a child, "Return a gift."

I know that no one has ever accepted his gift, and no one has ever given him a gift in return.

I almost saw a smile on his face.

He said, "Okay."