Another lovey comic commission from the lovey @sandglass-art I love the way she draws my OC and everything. This takes place after the last commission found here. Not only does it have Calesta in it but also her mother Celeste. The mark on Celeste's shoulder is her clan's mark. That's a scar on her tummy that she got from Calesta. It's Calesta's birthday and it's time for her party that Gaara and Kankuro planned all by themselves. Please read it has baby Shikadia.
Calesta is singing a real song that is a favorite of mine called, Arms By: Christina Perri
Again late with Gaara week. This will be my last one. Day 6 memories. Thank you @justgaara for hosting this. Hopefully next year I won’t fall far behind and can do all the days.
Summary: Gaara and Shikadia go over a photo album while Gaara talks about each picture. A nice uncle and nephew moment we all need.
A young boy, at the age of five, tugs on the pants leg of the Kazekage. Gaara looks down to see his nephew looking up at him. Young Shikadai is holding a book under his arm. Gaara knows that sometimes Shikadia likes to have someone read him a story; it seems he wants Gaara to do it now. With the day free of meeting, Gaara takes little Shikadia’s hand, and they walk into what Kankuro likes to call the lazy room.
A place where Gaara and Kankuro like to go when they want some time to themselves. There is a table in the center of the room. A desk in the back of the room. A couch with a TV in front of it on the left. The rest of the room has plants and bookcases. The bookcases are full of books, scrolls, and one that only has movies.
Gaara leads Shikadia towards the couch. They both take a seat as Shikadia holds up the book for his Uncle. With a smile, Gaara takes the book, ready to read whatever story for his young nephew. Once he opened the book, it’s not a storybook-like; he thought it was a photo album.
“Mom made this. I want to look at it with you, Uncle Gaara,” Shikadia smiles.
On the first page are three pictures; the first one is of Gaara and his siblings. Gaara can tell this was taken after the Chunin Exams. Maybe before the mission to rescue Sasuke. Gaara is standing between Temari and Kankuro. The two are smiling while Gaara, as usual, arms are crossed with a blank stare that could pass as a glare. Gaara’s siblings have a hand on each of Gaara’s shoulders.
Now he remembers when this picture was taken. The memory makes him smile. That smile got little Shikadia’s attention, so he asked about the picture. Gaara is happy to talk about it.
“This was taken after a mission. Even though we failed to retrieve the target, no one was killed, and I didn’t lose control. This was back when I still had Shukaku inside,” Gaara looks down at Shikadai, “After staying in Konoha for a while, we returned home to Suna. That is when this picture was taken after we returned. It was your Uncle Kankuro’s idea.”
The second picture shows Gaara with someone Shikiadia doesn’t know. She has a nervous smile while Gaara has a blank stare towards the camera.
“That is Matsuri. She was a student of mine. The reason for her smile was because she was taken off guard before the picture was taken. She wanted to retake it, but you know how your mother is.”
Gaara remembers when Matsuri was trying to take the camera from Temari, only to fail when the wind users glided up high on her giant fan.
The third picture shows Gaara with Matsuri and Rock Lee. Of course, Rock Lee is doing his good guy pose. Matsuri is looking at him in confusion. Shikidia knows Rock Lee and knows he still does that pose today, now his son Metal Lee joins him.
“This was taken after another mission. A group of bandits kidnapped Matsuri. Friends from Konoha helped with the rescue. Matsuri didn’t quite understand Lee at first,” Gaara turns the page.
Once again, there are only three pictures on the page. The first one shows Gaara and his siblings again; this time, they are wearing Sand Chunin vests. Baki is standing behind them. They didn’t all become Chunin at the same time.
“This was when I became a chunin.”
“You were a chunin?”
“Did you think I went from genin to Kazekage?”
Shikadia hides his blush of embarrassment. He really did think that since Gaara was so young when he became Kazekage. Gaara was a chunin, but he went from chunin to Junin to Kazekage in one year. Gaara rubs Shikadia’s head like he usually does to praise or comfort the child.
The second picture shows the three siblings again; this time, Gaara is wearing his Kazekage robes. Gaara doesn’t say anything; he knows Shikadia can tell when this picture was taken. The third picture shows Gaara, his siblings, and many shinobi from Konoha standing outside the village wall. The sand siblings are wearing black funeral clothes while Gaara is shaking hands with Naruto.
“This picture was a sneaky one that was taken by Matsuri. No one knew she was there until she handed me this picture. After Shukaku was removed from me, it killed me. Chiyo, an elder from Suna with the help of Naruto, brought me back to life. It came with a price; Chiyo had to sacrifice her life. After we buried her, the leaf shinobi left. I was saying farewell with that handshake.”
The first picture on the next page showed the sand siblings heading out. Temari and Gaara are wearing a white scarf. While Temari has a small fan open and fanning herself. Another picture was taken by Masturi. This time they knew she took the picture when it was taken.
“We were on our way to the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. My first one. This happened before the war. My siblings were my bodyguards.”
“Uncle Gaara, you don’t need any bodyguards. You’re very strong and can take on anyone,” Shikadia cheered.
Gaara’s smile widens as he gives out a small chuckle. Shikadia always looked up to his Uncles. He’s at that age when he thinks his whole family is invisible. Sand shield makes Shikadia think no one can touch his Uncle Gaara. If only he knew about the times the shield had failed or was used against him.
The second picture showed them returning from the Kage Summit. The third picture has the siblings together in Gaara’s office. This picture brought a look of sadness to Gaara’s face.
“It was the day before the fourth shinobi war. Temari wanted the three of us to take a picture together, just in case. Fortunately, the three of us made it back alive,” Gaara sadness fades away when he remembers how happy he was to see his siblings were alive.
The theme seems to be three pictures per page. First shows Gaara shaking hands with Naruto again. It seems Naruto only has one arm. Gaara explained to Shikadia how Naruto and Sasuke both lost an arm, but only Naruto got a replacement. The second shows everyone together at Naruto’s wedding. If you look closely, you can see Temari and Shikamaru holding hands. The last one shows Temari standing next to Gaara wearing a dark blue three-piece suit and a sour expression on his face.
Gaara used to wonder if they picked another girl instead of Hakuto, would he be married right now. Those thoughts left about a month after the wedding meeting. He knows she is happy with the one she loves, and that makes him happy for her.
This is the last page, and it only has two pictures on it. One is at Temari and Shikamaru’s wedding. The last one brings joy to Gaara’s heart. Gaara is holding baby Shikadai for the first time. A few hours after Temari gave birth, she was very tired, and when Gaara came to check on her, his sister handed him her baby then fell asleep. Gaara took a seat in the chair next to Temari, still holding his nephew.
“That’s me,” Shikadia cheers while pointing at himself in the picture.
“This is the first time I held you. It was a couple of hours after you were born,” Gaara smiles as he closes the photo album.
“Mom says it’s for you, Uncle Gaara.”
Gaara looks down at the photo album; he will like to look back on these from time to time. Right now, he will put it in a special place. He will show this to Kankuro sometime later.
