Gaara and Shikamaru

Synopsis
A baby Gaara dreams of his mother, and cries at her absence. As children, Gaara and his siblings play on a sandbox, Gaara using his control over sand to create complex and detailed structures. At Kankurō's request, Gaara makes sculptures of food, exasperating Temari. Their father calls Kankurō and Temari away. Villagers watching from afar are afraid of Gaara, and throw a stone at him, which is blocked by the sand. Under Rasa's watch, Gaara is attacked with kunai, to no effect. At night, Gaara asks his uncle why they feel hungry. Yashamaru tells him that maybe it's so they can have good food. While playing in the sandbox, Gaara asks him why the sky is blue, and Yashamaru tells him it's so they can look up at it. Gaara agrees that looking at the sky eases his pain. Gaara asks why he doesn't get sleepy, and why he doesn't have a mother. Yashamaru evades answering. Kankurō and Temari want to play with Gaara, but their fathers keeps them from doing so. Yashamaru arrives with lunch, and Gaara notices how he resembles his mother.

At the Academy, Shikamaru pays no attention to class, and throws a pencil at a sleeping Chōji, startling him. Iruka chastises him for sleeping. Knowing it was Shikamaru who woke him up, Chōji throws books at him. Naruto complains about the noise, as he is trying to sleep. Iruka sends the three of them to the hallway. Chōji offers them snacks, and when Iruka comes see them, they're standing asleep. Iruka scares them awake. Later, Chōji asks Shikamaru for money to buy more snacks. In a later class, Naruto stands up to bullies bothering Hinata. Shikamaru thinks Naruto is stupid for intruding in other people's problems instead of minding his own. Chōji criticises Shikamaru for thinking so. The two begin fighting, but Naruto interrupts it, and the three end up laughing. After class, the three see Sasuke rejecting a flower from Ino. She notices them, and runs after them. After losing her, they see Iruka flirting with some women. Naruto approaches him, and uses the Sexy Technique. At night, Chōji and Shikamaru bid him farewell.

Гаара и Шикамару