Let The Grass In This Meadow Flourish

"If we set aside some of our leftover savings from when we still dealt with Trigger, we should be able to buy 55 percent percent of the Hatsume's stocks from the shareholders since, because the Hatsume's are facing the threat of bankruptcy, the shareholders can't wait to get rid of the shares on their hands." Chisaki sat as he explained the future prospects of the idea to his adoptive father. "We would be able to buy the shares on their hands at the lowest price."

"For now, 55 percent in stocks is enough to take over the Hatsume's decision making power, making the Shie Hassaikai the legal owner of the company." Chisaki continued as Arima studied the documents Chisaki handed him for this plan. Truthfully told, Arima was impressed by how well thought out this whole plan was. Chisaki had even made a preliminary blueprint for various types of DNA prosthetics in the span of a few days.

"All we need now is your sign of approval so we'd be able to begin." Chisaki stated, looking at Arima in eager anticipation.

Seeing how Chisaki was now, Arima couldn't help but feel proud of him. Barely 18 years old, the young man he had raised for so long could now make great plans and decisions for the Shie Hassaikai.

"Alright. Show me where I need to sign." Arima chuckled as Chisaki quickly handed him a document with an impassive expression but had hands slightly trembling with unexpressed joy.

"Oh, and, if the allocated funds aren't enough, I give you permission to deal with some of the bars we own." Arima said, his hands playing with a pen casually. "Whether you sell them or keep them is up to you."

With the look of a proud father to his reliable son, Arima patted Chisaki's shoulder. "I leave the Shie Hassaikai's future to you."

...

"How did you end up here?" Lee suddenly asked as he and Gaara relaxed on the Tree of Nuwa's roots.

"The Akatsuki killed me and I got dragged by a portion of the Juubi's soul here." Gaara answered in a concise manner, tucking his gloved hands further into his pockets in search for warmth. "What about you?"

"I got hit by the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The next thing I knew, I was a four year old kid in this world." Lee said, looking not one bit bothered by the cold. "Wait, so you got pulled here before the war? But, how? I saw you doing just fine during the war?"

"I split my soul in half. The one you saw in our old world was the other half of my soul." Gaara replied, attempting to circulate his chakra throughout his body to help him warm up.

"But, that still doesn't make any sense! You died first, so how did I end up passing through before you?" Seeming to have finally realized Gaara's state, Lee handed him a self-heating pouch which Gaara had gratefully accepted, secretly wondering where Lee had hidden it after noting no visible pockets in his jumpsuit.

"Time passes strangely in the afterlife. It might be because you went here directly without going through death first." Gaara mused to himself, albeit still unsure.

"Xiao Rin! Where are you? Breakfast is ready!" Suddenly, from within the temple, an elderly woman emerged with a wooden ladle in hand.

"I'm with a friend, grandma! I'll go there in a bit!" From beside him, Lee shouted, catching Gaara in surprise.

"A friend? Then, what are you waiting for, boy?! Bring 'em along you!" The elderly lady shouted as she went back inside.

Friend? Somehow, this word brought a feeling of warmth to Gaara. Did Lee really see him as a friend?

"Xiao Rin?" Trying to hide his complicated emotions, Gaara asked, burrowing his face into his woolen scarf.

"Ah, that's actually the name I go by now, Hiryu Rin." Lee said as he stood up, pulling Gaara up with him. "But, if possible, can you still call me Lee? I want there to be a constant reminder around me to make sure I never forget my past and my real origins. So, I'll be relying on you, Gaara-kun."

"Alright." Gaara smiled as Lee led them both towards the shrine. "Just calling me Gaara is fine as well. You can remove the honorifics."

Since they were friends now.

...

"Come on, Gaara! You must be hungry, right? My grandma makes the best curry in the world!" Lee grinned, practically dragging Gaara into the three-story pagoda from the side door.

Eating curry for breakfast?

"Excuse me for the intrusion." Gaara said quietly, sighing visibly after finally entering the warm shrine with Lee having ran off somewhere while Gaara was taking off his muddy shoes and replacing them with the guest slippers.

"Come in, come in! Be careful of the scrolls by the doorway!" The elderly woman ushered him in and quickly shut the door, blocking the cold wind from coming in. "I hope you don't mind the mess. We're currently in the middle of cleaning the old library."

"Ah, it's so embarrassing! It's even the first time Xiao Rin brought a friend home!" The elderly lady fussed as she pushed boxes of books and scrolls out of the way and led Gaara to the kitchen where he saw Lee already taking out bowls and chopsticks and salivating at an ominously large pot of curry. "That boy really has no patience when it comes to food."

"Go on, eat! I'm not stopping you." Seeming to already be used to this, the elderly woman just chuckled as Lee hurriedly served himself and was quickly gobbling up his food. "So, aren't you even going to introduce your friend?"

"Oh, he's Gaara." Lee mumbled with a mouth full of food, obviously more interested in his bowl than the conversation. "Mm! It's so good!"

Towards his antics, the elderly lady just sighed as Gaara smiled wryly. "My name is Sabakuno Gaara. I live a few streets from here."

"Gaara-kun, ey? You can just call me Maki obaasan or just grandma like Xiao Rin does. Whichever you're more comfortable with." The elderly lady smiled warmly as she piled up rice on Gaara's plate. "Eat more, child. You're far too small to be healthy."

...

After they finished eating, they were immediately kicked out of the kitchen by grandma Maki who refused their help in cleaning up. So now, Gaara sat by the viewing deck on the second floor, watching Lee who was doing one-armed push-ups.

"Do your grandparents know?" Gaara suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"About what? Me not being their real grandson?" Lee asked, to which Gaara nodded. "I made things clear to them a few months ago but, I haven't told them the full story yet. They do know that I lived another life before."

"I see." Gaara understood, knowing it would be much harder for Lee to explain his situation to his grandparents than it was for Gaara since Lee was technically occupying a different body with biological relatives as opposed to Gaara who came here with his own body.

"Oh, and, since you've already met my grandma, it would only be fair if I met yours. Or whoever is taking care of you. Do you even have parents? Oh my god! Do you have people taking care of you?" Suddenly, Lee was overthinking for no reason. "Wait, you've been here for a few months already, right? Do you have a home? If you don't then, you can stay here with me! I can try to convince my grandparents to let you stay! They're good people so I'm sure they'll agree."

"Calm down, Lee. I have a home and a family." Gaara said, mildly amused. "They're good people too."

"Really? That's good." Lee sighed in relief as he gave Gaara a bright smile. "But, if you need help, you can always come to me. Since there's only two of us now, you can rely on me!"

"The same goes for you." Gaara said, returning Lee's smile with one of his own.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Gaara's phone vibrated in his pocket, cutting off their conversation. Mildly irritated, he grabbed his phone and sighed when he finished reading the message.

"I'm sorry, Lee. It seems that they need me back home for something." Gaara said apologetically as Lee rolled on his back and sat up.

"Aww, too bad. But, I totally understand." Lee smiled in reassurance. "How about I send you back? That way, we could still be able to talk while we walk and I'd get to find out where you live."

"Alright." Gaara agreed without much hesitation upon seeing Lee's bright smile directed at him.

"Grandma, I'm gonna send Gaara back!" As the two headed back down, Lee yelled, informing his grandma as they headed out through the side door.

"Don't stay out too long!" Popping her head out from the kitchen, grandma Maki said, watching as both boys put on their shoes and headed out.

As the freezing wind greeted them once again, Gaara shivered, tucking further into his coat. Though, in contrast to Gaara's aversion to the cold, Lee jogged down the stone staircase in just his thin jumpsuit, looking as though the cold didn't bother him at all.

"Hey, Gaara. Since you live so close by, how about we train taijutsu together?" Lee suddenly suggested with an expression that said he had just thought of the greatest idea ever. "I can teach you stuff you don't know yet and I'd get to spar with you often."

"You know, I've always wanted a rematch between the two of us at full power!" Lee grinned brightly as they reached the foot of the staircase.

"I don't have much to do anyways so sure." With gloved hands fiddling with his phone in his pocket, Gaara muttered. "Perhaps we could exchange phone numbers so we can tell each other when we're free."

"Oh, yeah! Good idea!" Lee exclaimed, pulling out his phone from somewhere in his jumpsuit before readily giving Gaara his number.

Gaara pulled out his own phone with a small smile, saving Lee's phone number in his contacts as they walked towards Gaara's neighborhood, having passed by the shop where Gaara had previously bought his pork bun.

Suddenly seeing the various decorations hanging on the neighboring houses filling the whole neighborhood with a festive atmosphere, Gaara realized why Chisaki wanted him back so soon. He looked towards Lee, remembering what day it was.

"Merry Christmas, Lee." Gaara said, seemingly offhandedly.

"Merry Christmas, Gaara." Lee said, surprised but happy that Gaara greeted him. "I completely forgot what day it was since my family never celebrated it."

They spent the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, with Lee smiling to himself as he quietly hummed Christmas songs and Gaara just studying the various signs by the road.

Not long later, they finally arrived on Gaara's street, just a short distance from the Shie Hassaikai's compound.

"We're here." Gaara sighed, parting with Lee with a slight smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lee."

"Yeah... See you." Lee said hesitantly, hands clenched tightly in fists. He stared intently at Gaara's figure, secretly afraid that if he lost sight of Gaara, he would wake up and everything that happened today would turn out to be just another wishful dream.

Perhaps sensing Lee's hesitance, Gaara nudged Lee's shoulder gently with his own. "You have my number. We can still talk to each other whenever you want."

"Gaara!" Suddenly, Gaara was pulled into a bone-crushing hug which left him unable to breathe though he made no move to extricate himself from it, understanding that Lee needed some form of reassurance. "I'll come here tomorrow! And then the day after tomorrow! I'll come here everyday so we can meet up and train together!"

In fact, both of them needed to be reassured in some way. This day had brought them a lot of mixed feelings as well as brought back past memories, both happy and sad. So, in silence, they both indulged themselves in this earth grounding hug for few moments.

Unfortunately, an interruption forcefully cut off this moment short.

"Well, well! Aren't you a bit too young to be having a secret tryst, Gaara-kun?" Leaning on the gate, Nemoto was smoking his cigarette, watching both boys with playfully cynical eyes.

Abruptly, both boys turned towards their watcher.

"Wait, wait! No, this is-" Lee hurriedly let go of Gaara, only then realizing the compromising position they were in which could easily be misunderstood by others, his arms waving wildly in the air in embarrassment.

"Don't embarrass him, Shin-san." Gaara frowned imperceptively. "He's my friend."

"A 'friend', huh?" Nemoto narrowed his eyes at the two boys and smirked knowingly. "Whatever. Just get in quickly so we can start."

"Alright." Gaara said as he headed inside, throwing one last look towards Lee. "See you tomorrow."