Chapter One

The Blood-Thirsty Girl of the Sand…and the Boy Unfortunate Enough to Meet Her

So there he was in the middle of the desert, with the demon moon in the night sky, gasping for breath, as sand crushed him from all sides. "Um, Miss, before you crush me to death, can you tell me why you're doing this?"

The redhead looked at him, then her eyes narrowed. "Because I am allowed to kill enemies."

"Enemies?" the blond asked. "Um, I don't recall being your enemy."

"You are not of the village, thus you are my enemy," she said. She tightened the cocoon of sand around him. "Now stay still and die."

"Wait!" he shouted, "Please, before you kill me, can I at least defend myself?"

The girl considered this. As she stood there considering, he got a chance to look at her. Really look at her. She looked roughly two years younger than him, and was even smaller. Her red hair was cut short, so short that he could almost see scalp. On her forehead the kanji of love was imprinted in deep red, and she wore, of all things, a cloak.

Yes, he had found a very interesting specimen as an executioner. "Very well, you have sixty seconds to explain what you are doing in the border of Hidden Sand. Then I shall crush you."

"But-,"

"59 seconds remain, 58…"

He sighed. "Okay. I am going to tell you what happened but you're probably not going to believe this. It started a couple hours ago, when I saw the ambassador from Hidden Cloud carrying a large futon rolled up over his shoulder."

"54, 53..."

"Normally I wouldn't have followed, but suddenly I heard the screaming of a girl coming from inside the futon." Naruto paused and sighed. "I didn't know much about the girl inside the futon, Hyuga Hinata, but I did kinda remember her voice. She sat two desks below me."

The red headed girl still hadn't stopped counting. In fact she was getting to the thirty second mark." Naturally, I wasn't just going to let the guy get out of the village with my classmate, so I attacked!" He paused. "And was totally destroyed." He deadpanned at this.

The girl was now reaching twenty seconds. "Anyway. I was pissed. So I gave the guy chase and I ended up somewhere outside of the border of fire country. When I realized how far I was, and that I had lost the guy's trail, I decided to head back home…." The sand cocoon was starting to constrict. "God damn it! Can you lay off the sand, until I'm done!"

Surprisingly, the sand actually stopped. "Thank you! Now, as I was saying, I had a serious problem. I was lost. So I asked some bandits for directions, and you know what they did?" He paused for drama. "They kidnapped me!"

The crimson haired girl didn't make any reaction, she didn't seem to particularly care, and was getting to the ten second mark. "But, Uzumaki Naruto isn't easy to kidnap. Somewhere along the way the guys let their guard down, and you know what I did?"

The girl was about to get to zero. "I ran away! Hah! I outran them and now I am here." He smiled at the last part. "So, er, do you believe me?"

"Zero," the girl said. "Mother shall have your blooo-,"

"There he is, thought you could get the jump on us, eh?" A bandit ran out from a caravan and started running towards the two. "Oh, and look what we have here? Two for the price of one. Too bad the girl is ugly, but I'm sure we ca-,"

The guy didn't get a chance to finish that word as a dune of sand opened below him and swallowed him into a void. The bandits behind him looked at the man, then to the redhead, then ran. They didn't get far, as sand swallowed them too. Naruto watched this all in horror, then prayed that the kid would make his death quick.

"Er, before you kill me, can I at least make a prayer?" he asked. "Please?"

"What makes you think I'm going to kill you?" the girl asked, her voice as hollow as ever. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"Not at all!" he nearly shouted. His voice had to rise a few octaves. Honestly, he was wetting his pants just being near her. "It's just that –wait you're letting me go?"

"You've proven your innocence," she said reluctantly. "Father does get mad if I kill potential clients, and villagers." She seemed very bitter admitting this. Naruto sighed in relief and pulled himself out of the sand." But if you are a threat, I will kill you." She paused. "Even if you aren't, I shall kill you if you annoy me."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, sir, I mean ma'am. I'll make sure I do nothing to make you angry." He walked close to her, and she walked slowly. He didn't have any problem keeping pace, but he couldn't help but shiver every time she looked at him. It was like she was sizing him up for a kill. "Um, is there anything on my face?" he asked.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "You talk too much. Stop it."

Naruto shut up. The rest of their walk to the Hidden Sand Village occurred in silence. Too bad the village was nearly three miles away. He hated walking beside someone without at least saying something to them. Though he had a feeling that if he did say anything to this girl, it would likely be his last.

…

…

"Where have you been," a tall Sand Nin, wearing a turban, asked. "You were supposed to be back half an hour ago. It is not like you to be tardy."

The girl glared at the man, who flinched, then glared at the taller blond haired boy beside her. "I found this in the middle of the desert. May I kill him?"

The man reluctantly shook his head. "Not until I see if he is a threat." He turned to Naruto who waved at him. "What…are you?"

"Well, I'm a boy," Naruto said cheerfully. "Who almost died."

The man looked at the redhead, then nodded. "Yes, most who encounter Gaara suffer that fate."

"But I didn't die," he said cheerfully. Then seeing an evil glare from the shorter girl he closed his mouth and looked to the Nin weakly. "Um, sorry. I'm not supposed to talk."

"I told him I would kill him if he annoyed me." She looked at him darkly. "That offer still stands."

Naruto chuckled. "Um, see?"

The man nodded, seeing exactly what he meant. "Come with me then." He turned to Gaara. "You, the Kazekage wants you home right away."

The girl scowled, looked at Naruto, looked at the Sand Nin, then disappeared in a cloud of sand. Naruto whistled. "Wow, do all Sand Nins know how to do that? Wait a minute! How old is she? She can't be a Ninja!"

The man frowned. "I think the two of us have a lot to talk about before I begin to tell you about Gaara."

…

…

"Here, you may stay here for the night," the Sand Nin, who was called Baki, said. "The food has already been paid for." He paused and looked at him harshly. "Do not try to escape. Not until administration has decided what to do with you."

"How long will that take?" Naruto asked. "A day?"

"Possibly a month," Baki answered, shrugging. "Stay out of trouble until then. We'll do an evaluation on your over all skill before we go any further, but rest assured you will not be harmed in your stay in the Hidden Sand Village."

"Oh?" Naruto asked. "What about that girl? What if I bump into her again?"

"Then I make no promises on your mortality." He closed the door of the motel, and Naruto shrugged.

"Well, it could be worse. I could still be in the care of those bandits," he admitted. He went to the bed, pulled a blanket over his cold frame, put his head on a pillow, and slowly drifted to sleep. "And who knows, they might just send me back to Konoha tomorrow. I mean, no one wants a dead last, right?"

...

…

"I don't believe this…" Baki trailed off. He had taken the riff-raff Gaara had found a few hours ago to the academy to test out his potential to be a ninja, and came up with this. "This boy has that much Chakra?"

The Kazekage stood beside him, scowling. "Baki? Where exactly did this boy come from?"

Baki looked startled. "Honestly, I didn't think to ask."

"What?" The Kazekage did not looked amused. "Why didn't you ask the most basic of questions?"

"I didn't know he had this much potential? I thought I would bring him here, see if he had any potential, then get some transport to ship him to the border of Wind country. How was I supposed to know that he was this…my goodness, I don't even have words. And it's still going!"

The Kazekage's eyes narrowed. "It was Gaara who found him," he said. His harsh gaze turned to a girl standing on a roof, looking at everyone around her with murder in her eyes. To him, it was kind of cute. In a twisted sort of way. "What is she up to?"

"I don't think she was trying to test her capacity," Baki deadpanned. "In fact, he had to beg for his life. Several times in fact."

The Kazekage looked thoughtful. "And she let him…live?"

"Yes." Baki blinked. "She let him…live."

The two looked at each other. "Gaara hasn't let someone, innocent or not, live since…can you remember?" the Kazekage asked slowly.

Baki opened his mouth and closed it. He sighed, looked at the evil looking girl in on the roof curling sand around her, to the boy still pumping out Chakra, to the evil looking Kazekage chuckling darkly beside him. 'I should have listened to mom. 'Buy a caravan and sell water, Baki, it'll sell in the desert!'

He could have really used some water now.

…

…

"So, I can go home now?" Naruto asked, hopefully. "I mean, I did what you asked. I went through the exercises they told me to do and everything."

"Yes, but you did them too well," Baki admitted. He tried not to meet the boy's eyes. He felt bad about this. "In fact, you did so well that you're staying here…forever."

Silence. Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it, he opened his mouth a second time, tried to process what he just heard, then closed his mouth, again. "I don't get it." He looked at Baki suspiciously. "I'm no genius or anything, but I'm pretty sure other Ninja villages don't randomly take in strays."

Baki frowned. "I'll have you know, we've taken in strays before."

"Any of them not in a body bag?"

Baki refused to answer. "In any case, we want you to enroll in the Shinobi Academy here."

"When you say we, do you mean that guy in the Kage robes looking at me from the roof, next to the crazy redhaired girl who found me yesterday?" Naruto couldn't help flinching every time he looked that direction. One of them was giving off blood thirsty killing intent, while the other was giving off killing intent, and a gleeful, insane stare, that screamed murder.

Baki sighed. "Please, that is our Kazekage, have some respect for the man." He said the last part reluctantly. The old Nin was pretty sure the boy wasn't fooled. "Besides, he is powerful. Believe me, boy, you do not want to get in his way."

"I'm not trying too," Naruto defended. "In fact, I want to be out of his way. Right out of the village even."

"Nice try, but you're an aspiring Sand Ninja now."

"Do I get a choice in this?" Baki directed him to the sky. Then told him to look at the two evil figures standing on the rooftops. Naruto looked back at him with a deadpan. "Um, I guess not."

Baki nodded. "If it's any consolation, you're not the only one who has misgivings about working as a Ninja here."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes,"Baki admitted, then frowned. "Though most of them tend to be dead."

Naruto's gaze lowered. "Oh, well, I don't want that." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "And all this just from trying to save Hinata-san." He looked up. "Um, by the way. Is there a way I can make a call to Hidden Leaf?" he asked.

"You mean a letter?"

"Yes, er, that's exactly what I mean." Naruto looked at him suspiciously. "Don't you have phones here?"

"Of course we do," Baki said, sounding affronted. He pointed to a phone system nearby. It was basically a string and tin can. "State of the art technology," he said, proudly.

Naruto didn't look convinced. "I think I want to go to Konoha now," he admitted slowly. "But I'm guessing you're not going to let me go so easily so…I guess I'll be one of your Ninja?"

Baki smiled sadly. "Yes, I'd recommend that course of action." Slowly he bent down to whisper to Naruto. "Get strong enough and someday you might escape this place…without being hunted down by our Hunter Nins."

"Are they any good?" Naruto asked.

"There have only been two people we haven't caught," he said. "And one of those two happens to be the Kazekage's cousin."

"Ahh," Naruto said, his gaze low again. "Take me to my new home, and I'll get changed."

As Naruto left Baki called out. "You know what I said about escaping was a joke?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes. I figured as much." And walked to the direction of the motel.

…

…

On his way back to the motel, Naruto had a strange feeling that he was being watched. Thing is it wasn't as strange as he believed, since half the village felt it too. He looked up, saw a girl standing on the roof, and yelled, "Ahh! It's you again!" He turned around and ran. "No you don't! You won't catch me this time."

The girl glared at him, jumped down, and sent a hail of sand to wrap his legs. "You cannot escape me. Do not try." Naruto yelped when one of the sand hands wrapped around his feet, but otherwise stopped struggling. "I wish to test you."

"Um, why?" Naruto asked. He had a bad feeling about this. "I'm no one special."

"Father has an interest in you," she said, suspiciously. "And you were hiding that great and terrible Chakra from me."

"Great and terrible Chakra? My Chakra has always been like that. Mind you, it's hard to mold it into anything useful," he said, chuckling as sand started to crawl up to his chest. "Can we talk without me fearing death?" he asked. "It's kind of uncomfortable."

"No, you shall remain like that until I wish for it to stop."

"And how long will that be?"

She blinked, then glared. "Whenever I wish. Stop talking."

Naruto closed his mouth.

"Now, you will tell me why you have so much Chakra," she said, her eyes boring into his. "You will tell me why my father has such an interest in you, and you will not distract me with your pathetic pleading."

Naruto nodded and started making mumbling noises while his mouth was closed. Gaara seemed to have picked up on what Naruto was doing and glared. "Insolence, open your mouth and talk. I will spare you, for now. While you are a mystery to me."

Naruto sighed in relief. He smiled. "Thanks, it's annoying not being able to-,"

"Answer the question," she growled softly."I repeat, this is your final warning."

"Um, right. Well to answer your first question. I've always had a lot of Chakra, I guess. I'm not that powerful. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'm the dead last. And why your father is so interested in me? I think Baki-sensei said that you not killing me is what makes me so special?"

Gaara blinked. "I don't understand. I spared you because you were not on my list of those I'm allowed to kill."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, while looking for an exit. He was pretty sure he would have to make a quick run if he couldn't answer her questions, in a satisfactory way. "I know, I'm just a normal Ninja. But for some reason Baki-sensei, and the others think I can be a decent Shinobi hear."

She paused, and considered this. She nodded her head, and looked to have made a decision. "After a month, we will fight, and I will kill you." Her eyes narrowed. "You will verify my existence."

Naruto gaped. "Um, how am I supposed to do that?"

"By dying," she said, smiling at him. Naruto really didn't like her smile. "You will die, mother will feast on your blood, and my existence will be proven." Slowly the sand that held him went back to her gourd, and she turned away. "Till then, train hard. For I will be your executioner."

As she warped out of the neighborhood, making many men and women run away screaming, Naruto got the impression that he had traded one hostile village, Konoha, for another. "Baki-sensei, I hate you!" he called out. "How am I supposed to fight that?"

"You aren't," someone said. "You're simply supposed to die." Naruto turned around. A blond haired girl wearing a dark kimono walked out from an alley. She had four buns on her head, fashioned perpendicular to each other. "What? Haven't you ever seen a girl before?"

"Yes, but not one with such a weird hair style," Naruto said, bluntly. "And what was that about dying? I'll have you know that I resent that! I kinda have to be the Hokage of my village."

"That'll be hard, considering how you're stuck here in Sand..forever," she said, laughing at him. "Honestly, didn't Baki tell you this already? You try to escape, and-,"

"Yeah, don't worry, he made that part clear," he said bitterly. He rubbed the back of his head. "It's just that I'll miss the old man, and Teuchi, and...um, that's about it." He looked up. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don't really have a lot of people waiting for me back home."

"What about your parents?" the girl asked.

"Orphan," Naruto said, shrugging. "Don't have any."

"Oh," the girl said, sounding sad. "Sorry about that."

Naruto shook his head, then gave her a wide smile. "It's alright. I'm used to it. At least you aren't making fun of them."

"Why would anyone make fun of your parents?" she asked. "That sounds pretty cruel."

Naruto looked surprised. "Really? I got that a lot back home. Thought it was normal." He rubbed his head, and scrunched his eyebrows. "Guess home wasn't what I thought it was."

"If the people in your old village treated you like that, probably not," the girl admitted. She shook her head. "Sorry, my name is Temari." She put out her hand, for Naruto to take. "Father said you're Uzumaki Naruto, is that correct?"

The boy nodded, and had to tip toe to reach the hand. "Nice to meet ya, Temari. So is your father Baki?" he asked.

She frowned. "No, he's actually the Kazekage."

"The creepy guy in the Kage robes?" Naruto got a whack to his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult your dad."

The girl shook her head, looking worried. "No. I wasn't mad. But father's guards are around, you never know when what you say might reach his ears."

Naruto closed his mouth. He had insulted the Kazekage more than once today. Hopefully the evil looking man wouldn't have his head by the end of the day. He liked where his head was, right above his neck. "Thanks for the warning." He paused then looked up to the taller girl suspiciously. "But why're you helping me?"

She paused, looked up to the place where Gaara was previously, then looked back at him. "I want to know why Gaara is so interested in you."

Naruto looked at her blankly. "Gaara wants me dead."

She nodded. "Yes, but she hasn't killed you yet, has she?"

"Um, no," he admitted. "She kinda gave me a deadline though."

Temari frowned. "Gaara, isn't known for giving deadlines, or extensions, or mercy, or donating in general." She looked him up and down. "I don't understand. Why you?"

"Huh?"

"Why Is she following you?...but not killing you." She circled him. "What makes you so special."

"Um, probably nothing. " Naruto started shaking. The girl's eyes were similar to the redheaded monster. He wondered if they were related. "Maybe it's because I begged for my life?"

She stopped and shook her head. "No, that would have just got you killed faster." She shrugged. "Trust me, I've seen it." She grimaced. "I'm her sister."

Silence. Naruto looked at her, she looked back at him, then sighed. "You can run away screaming now."

And he did.

…

…

Naruto didn't get any sleep that night. Maybe it was because of the heat, the smell, the bugs crawling up the walls, the rough pillow, blanket, and the like. Or, maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the girl watching him from his window. "I can see you, you know!" Naruto shouted. He had the blanket covering his head so he wouldn't have to look at her. Just one glimpse was enough. "I'm not coming out! I've got a busy day tomorrow."

The girl didn't answer. Actually, she never answered. She seemed to travel at her own pace, talk in her own pace, and did things generally when she wanted too. In a way this reminded him much of himself, he did whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to as well. But he made sure that what he did didn't harm anyone. Even his pranks were fairly harmless. He could certainly never claim to have watched someone while they slept.

That was just plain sick.

"The moon is out tonight," she said. She turned away from him to stare at it. "I've come to warn you."

"Warn me?" he asked, some fear coming through. He pulled the blanket from his head and watched her with one tired, droopy eye. "If it's about you trying to kill me, I think I've been warned enough." He paused. "By you, Baki-sensei, the villagers, you again, and your sister."

Her eyes narrowed at the sister part. "You've met Temari?"

"Yes," he admitted. He yawned and brushed hair out of his eyes. "I gotta say she's got a weird hair style."

Gaara didn't reply with words, but softly grunted. It was so quite that he would have otherwise have missed it. "I don't care. My sister doesn't interest me." Sand shifted around her, filling the air, traveling through the window. "I've given you my warning. Don't follow me tonight." Her eyes turned crazed, before returning back to its borderline insane green. "I won't be able to control myself."

Naruto shivered, saw her face turn feral, almost demonic, and rubbed his eyes. "Okay. That's good to know?" He wasn't sure what the purpose of her coming through his window was. "And I was going to chase you tonight because..?"

The girl didn't answer, instead she turned around, turned her head back one last time to glare at him, then warped away from the window with sand trailing her like a lost puppy. A voice followed afterward. "I'll come for you later."

He blinked, and watched her disappear from his sight. Sighing he lied back on the bed, and watched the ceiling. He didn't understand Gaara. Then again he wasn't sure anyone here did. Her sister was terrified of her, in away. Baki didn't want to get near her. Her father was evil, so he doubted he particularly cared for the girl, and the villages ran away in terror whenever she walked the streets.

"Man, I'm in one strange village." Then again the villagers of Konoha did something similar. Instead of showing fear, they showed contempt, malice, and hatred when he was around. He was starting to understand patterns that looked a lot like his old home.

"Well, no use worrying about Gaara, just gotta find a way to get through this." Most kids Naruto's age would have been more worried about their situation, but not him. "I'm sure when the old man finds out I'm gone he'll come for me." He frowned. "Um, probably."

…

…

Naruto's walk to Sand Shinobi Academy was largely uneventful. No one glared at him, threw fruits at him, cursed him, or even looked at him. His blond hair and tanned skin wasn't as unfamiliar in Hidden Sand as Konoha. After all, if Temari was blond, there were likely to be people with the same coloring as her. So far he hadn't seem any, but the possibility was still there.

"Miss, can you tell me if I'm going the right way?" he asked a nearby matron. "I can't read some of these signs."

The lady looked at Naruto, smiled, and pointed to the direction he should have been traveling. "You're almost there. See that building that looks like a giant hut of sand?"

Naruto nodded. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this. "That's the Academy isn't it?"

The lady smiled, and went back to selling fruits. Naruto sighed and walked across the street to the place where he was directed to. Konoha had a much better training facility. It was beautiful, green, and friendly. This place seemed slightly less so, and much sandier. Of course being in a village covered in sand he didn't expect anything less."

"Hey, kid." Naruto paused and turned around. "Not that way, idiot. This way!" Naruto turned to the direction of the voice and squinted his eyes.

"Can I help you." He squinted even more. "Ma'am?"

"I'm a guy!" the person shouted. Naruto tilted his head in puzzlement. The guy in question had a face covered in makeup. "Um, ma'am are you sure? Cause I didn't know I was a guy until Iruka told me the difference between guys and gir-."

The makeup wearing boy cut him off by throwing a rock. Naruto ducked. "Hey, lady!"

"That was for the insult," the boy huffed. He looked around, trying to see if anyone saw this. "And I'll throw another one if you don't shut up and get over here."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously and backed away. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers…and you look pretty strange."

"What part of me is strange?"

"What part isn't?"

The boy frowned. "I don't like you." He narrowed his eyes. "You're a wise-guy."

Naruto frowned. "Not sure what ya mean, but if you mean smart, then, um, you're barking up the wrong tree."

The boy shook his head. "Didn't say anything about being smart. I meant you talk a lot." He smirked. "Talk a lot of shit."

Naruto sighed. "That's not fair. You're the second person who said that."

"And whose the first?"

"Gaara," he admitted. He looked both ways to see if calling her name summoned her. Something about her aura made her seem like some kind of off-world demon.

"Relax, she can't hear you. There was a full moon out yesterday." The funny thing was he was also looking around for her. "So we're safe to talk about her." He walked towards Naruto and put out his hand. "That's what I'm here for. I wanted to talk to you about my sister."

Naruto squinted his large blue eyes. He tried to see if he resembled anyone. Then seeing the identical scowling face his eyes lit up. "Ah, you wanna talk about Temari."

The boy growled. "No you idiot! I want to talk about Gaara!"

"Oh!" Naruto looked embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just that you look a lot like your sister."

"We look nothing alike!"

"You make the same expression when you scowl," Naruto pointed out. "And you both have beady little eyes."

The larger boy looked like he was trying very hard not to punch the smaller one. Now that he was close Naruto got a chance to analyze him. He was a boy. How he mistook him otherwise didn't make any sense now. He was broad, kinda ugly, and had a powerfully built body. He wore black, even on his head, and had some strange wooden casket on his back. Naruto considered asking him what it was, but realized something.

"Damn! I'm gonna be late." He turned around. At the same time the larger boy's arm shot out and stopped him. Naruto looked back and yelled," Hey, stop that!"

"Listen, this is important. The first ten minutes is going to be attendance, so you have time."

Naruto paused then nodded. "Alright, make it quick. What do you want to tell me about Gaara?"

He shook his head. "It's not me who is gonna tell you stuff. It's you who is gonna tell me why she hasn't killed you yet."

"Like I told your sister, I don't know." He scratched his head. "What's so special about her not killing me? I've only seen her kill bad guys."

The makeup boy nodded. "Well, she hasn't killed any civilians, yet." He stopped to emphasize the yet. "But it's just a matter of time. If I list the body count she's produced over the past year, and that's not including the ones I don't know about, I might as well be counting the stars in the night."

Naruto deadpanned. "You're kidding right?"

The larger boy pointed to a Ninja standing on a nearby building. "Do you see that guy there?"

Naruto nodded.

"He's waiting for Gaara to come back from the desert." He paused, and reluctantly said the last part. "Five thousand yen says this is the last time we'll ever see him."

"But he's a Ninja!" Naruto protested. "Gaara's just a little girl!"

The larger boy looked at the blond oddly. "Did you just say she's a little girl?"

"Um, yeah," Naruto said, "she's really just a small brat." He folded his arms in front of him. "Yup, just a scary, crazy brat."

"Who'll give you a hug with a sand coffin," the larger boy finished. He smiled. "You're going to die if you keep thinking like that."

Naruto sighed. "Probably, but I've never had anyone pay so much attention to me before." He supplied. "Gaara's actually the first kid my age who's tried to play with me."

"You mean kill you."

"Eh, we're Ninja, same difference."

"I don't think it works that –never mind."The larger boy smiled. "I just can't wait to see your head squished in when you try and treat her like a brat." He smiled even wider. "Hug her, see what happens."

Naruto shivered. "Um, yeah. That's just not happening." He heard the ring of the school bell. "Well, I've got to get to class." He turned around, and was about to run when the boy grabbed him by the collar again.

"Hey! What's your probl-,"

"My name's Kankuro." He frowned. "And I hate kids."

"Hey! You're only a few years older than me!"

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged. "I just hate them."

"Kinda hard to hate'em when you're almost the same age," Naruto deadpanned. Then smirked. "But hey, I'd hate myself too if went around wearing my sister's makeup."

"Warpaint!"

"Nice try, there's no war going on. It's make up, buddy. Deal with it." Naruto jumped out of the way of Kankuro's punch. He laughed as he blasted into the school. "See ya later, Ma'aaam!"

The larger boy growled, but didn't give chase. Instead he turned around, pulled out a mirror and stared at his own reflection. "I'm not a girl." Then realizing his mascara was rubbing into his eyebrows he pulled out a powder set, dipped it in some liquid, and proceeded to fix it.

Sadly, the powder kit had Temari's name written on it.

…

…

"You're the boy mom told me about!" A girl Naruto didn't know pointed to him from the other side of the classroom. "The one with all that Chakra!" Before Naruto could make a response another voice interrupted her.

"Way to point out that obvious, Matsuri." Naruto turned his head to see the annoyed face of Temari. "I'm dying to hear more thought provoking news from you. Please, don't let me interrupt you." Her smile tightened. "Please, do go on."

Naruto felt sorry for the girl. She looked his age. She had hard brown hair cut down to her ear level, a pale complexion, brown eyes, and was about his size. Her head drooped and she sat back down on her chair and glared at her desk. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Temari sighed, and looked at him. "Well, please continue your introduction."

Naruto stared at her for a second, then remembered what he was here for. He bowed. "Oh, and my name is Uzumaki Naruto the Future Hokage of Konoha!"

The class gasped at those words. "Please, don't tell me actually mean that," their teacher said. Her eyes seemed to trail every aspect of the wall. "Especially when the walls have ears."

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it. He remembered what Temari said about the Kazekage, and he decided that now was the best time to shut up. "Um, no. That was just a joke." He chuckled, seeing the relieved expression on his teacher's face. "I mean, I'm an aspiring Ninja of Hidden Sand."

That got a smile from his teacher. "But then your dream is still the same isn't it?"

Naruto paused. He scratched his chin and thought about that. If he couldn't be the Kage of Konoha, why not the Kage here? But then no one seemed to hate him here. Everyone seemed to give him attention when he asked for it, and aside from Gaara, the kids here appeared decent. "Don't know if I wanna be the Kazekage." Now this was tricky. "Guess I'll have to think about it."

The teacher continued to give him a smile then gestured for him to take a seat. "The top seats are reserved the for the lower years, the bottom for the upper. I'm going to be the teacher for the lower years. I'm afraid the upper year teacher, Baki, is going to be late."

Naruto nodded, and took a seat near the back. The girl, Matsuri, looked at him in excitement. Naruto decided to break the ice. "Hi, your name's Matsuri?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically. She seemed to be getting back to her normal mood. Yet she still was a little meek for Naruto's liking. "Sorry about interrupting you earlier."

"That's fine," Naruto said. He didn't have a problem with someone complimenting him. "It's just that kinda surprised me. No one's ever thought my Chakra was anything special."

The girl's eyes widened. "Nothing special. Uzumaki-san, I could see your Chakra as you molded it!"

"Huh?"

"Blue Chakra! There was so much of it that I could see the color." She was trying to stress how important this was, but Naruto wasn't getting it. Seeing his blank expression she decided to take a different approach. "Have you ever seen any other kid mold visible chakra?"

Naruto thought about it. He came up with none. "Er, I guess not." He rubbed his head. "That's…weird."

The two spent the rest of the class talking about Chakra. She tried to stress how amazing the Chakra molding exercise looked yesterday. Her entire neighborhood seemed pretty excited at having such a Chakra monster at their disposal. Especially one that wasn't so psychotic, like that girl who made it rain blood when stray cats, dogs, or birds flew her way. In her defense most of those animals had an explosive tag attached to them, but that a was a minor detail. One that most were willing to ignore.

During lunch break Naruto felt a finger tap his shoulder. Temari's olive face looked at him in annoyance. "I think we need to talk." She looked at Matsuri who was starting to back away, then to Naruto who just looked puzzled. "Ehem, in private."

Naruto's eyes slightly widened, but he made no other gestures. He looked at the brown haired girl apologetically and got up. He followed Temari out of the classroom and into the Hall. Sand littered the Hall and the place was pretty empty. Unlike Konoha Shinobi Academy the school was small, and the class size smaller. They could even fit the entire grades 1 to 4 in a single room.

"You're probably wondering why we have all the kids and big kids in the same room," Temari answered him. Without him needing to ask. She smirked. "Trust me, you're not the only one who thinks this is strange."

"Oh, was I really that obvious?"

"You were looking at the teacher like she'd lost it." Temari shook her head. "Honestly, you display your emotions too easily. Didn't they teach you anything back in Konoha?"

"Hey, they did. Like Henge, well we were starting to learn it, I'm not too good at it…and that's about it." Seeing her smirking face he tried to point out that she didn't know much either. "Well, what does Sand Academy teach its first years?"

"Henge, kawarimi, bunshin, and some minor E-rank Jutsu." Her eyes glinted with amusement. "But if you prefer the Konoha curriculum, we could always talk to the teacher…" She let that hang.

Naruto shook his head. Temari could easily see the greed in his eyes. "No, no problem here!" Like most kids he was hungry for power. No boy in their right mind would give up a chance to learn more Jutsu.

"I thought that would be the case." She looked around the Hall, then back to him. "Now, I've brought you here to warn you."

"About what?"

"Gaara," she said simply. "She's back."

"….oh."

"Yes, oh." She grimaced. "Did Kankuro tell you about that Nin posted on the building next to the school?"

"Yes," Naruto answered. "Said something strange too. Like this'll be the last time we see him."

Temari scowled. "Did you look out the window to see if he's still there?"

"No, I was too busy talkin' to Matsuri."

"Then you should take a look at it now." Temari pushed him to the nearest window, giving him an angle of where the Nin was posted earlier. She pointed to a spot. "That's where the guard was supposed to be right?"

Naruto nodded. He didn't get where she was going with this.

Temari held her finger to the spot, then pointed it down, slowly. "And that's where he is now."

Naruto felt sick. "Um, that's a large mound of sand." He slowly turned his paling face to her. "Don't tell me that there is...

"…someone buried under it," the girl finished. She pointed her finger to the right. "Well, you tell me."

Naruto reluctantly pulled his eyes away from her face, and looked at the spot she now pointed too. He tried not to gasp. "That's not red paint is it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Do vultures drink paint?" she asked rhetorically. "Or does blood and meat satisfy their diet."

Naruto felt queasy. "But, he was just one guy. How can one guy bleed so much!"

"Gaara's got a talent for making it spray blood." She laughed darkly. "To her it's almost like an art form."

Naruto's mouth felt dry. "An art form?"

"It's her hobby. She isn't just satisfied with killing her targets." Her voice dropped as Naruto's eyes widened. "No, not our Gaara. Our sweet lovable sister isn't satisfied unless her victim is either screaming in misery, or bathing the surroundings in red. She knows where to squeeze, crush, and pull to get the maximum amount of blood out."

"…um does size matter?" Naruto asked hopefully. "I mean, I'm pretty small. Don't think I'll bleed much."

Temari's eyes darkened. "No, but you'll make up for it with your screams."

Naruto's face froze. He looked at Temari, and Temari looked away. "When the Moon is out she goes into this fit of carnage. It's during this time father sends out his men to kill her. It keeps the civilian casualties on the low side."

"Wait, Gaara hasn't killed civilians has she?" The idea of a Ninja harming civilians seemed ridiculous to him. Ninja were supposed to protect the villagers. "Your father can't be that crazy...to let someone like that loose in the village."

Temari looked at him blankly. "You've seen my father, what do you think?"

"Point," Naruto sighed. "But, has she actually killed a civilian before?"

Temari frowned. Then reluctantly she said, "No, I guess not." She paused to think about one event where Gaara actually killed an innocent bystanders. "Never really thought about it, but she hasn't killed anyone that hasn't attacked her first. That's kind of…"

"…good?"

"I was going to say twisted, but I suppose good works too." The ponytailed girl shrugged. "Anyway, I'm just here to tell you that she's back -and I've got to go."

"Wait! Why are you-,"

"Don't move." A dark voice from behind Naruto froze him where he stood. "Or I will crush you."

Naruto recognized that voice instantly. Slowly he turned his head to see her. Gaara. The girl everyone was afraid of, and for good reason. She stood there in the middle of the hall with her eyes fixed on his face, and her hands clenched tightly. From head to toe she was covered in blood, and her cloak seemed to be off today.

"Gaara, you're back." Naruto didn't know what to say. Well, he didn't know what he could say that wouldn't get him killed. "Um, it's nice to see you. How're you doing?"

The girl frowned. Then she paused, looking like she was actually considering answering him. Then when Naruto thought she wouldn't say anything she opened her mouth. "I've had a feast." Naruto's face paled, while her face brightened.

"Mother gorged herself last night. We didn't stop, we continued while the night was young, we continued while the night was late, and I got to prove my existence on another opponent." With every word she spoke her eyes became more and more chaotic. "I've proven my existence once again, burying my prey into the sand."

She smiled and stepped forward. "Just as I will prove my existence fighting you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto took a step back. "Gaara, I don't want to fight you." He really didn't. He'd rather fight the Kazekage, at least it would end quickly, and with less fear of impending doom. "Can't we be, um, friends?" It was a long shot, but what did he have to loose?

The girl stopped, and glared. She seemed to be getting angrier. "I don't need friends." She grit her teeth. "I'm a monster. Monsters do not have friends."

Naruto paused. "…actually monsters do have friends." He was creeped out by her speech, but he felt a strong need to correct her. "Lots of them in fact."

The redhead glared. "Lies. You lie, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "No, I'm not." He tried to think where he heard that. "In fact, a lot of picture books show monsters terrorizing neighboring villages with their monster friends." Then he remembered something important. "In fact, those monsters always had the good guys outnumbered."

"…no, that can't be," Gaara said slowly. Though she seemed less sure of herself. "Monsters are born alone, and die alone." Her eyes narrowed. "You're trying to fool me, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "No, I'm dead serious." He chuckled at the dead part. "Monsters are always travelling in packs, its always those Ninja and Samurai that fight alone in those stories. Wonder if it's cause Ninja are bad at making friends, and Samurai's don't want any."

"No, a monster is a being of hatred." She took a few steps forward. "A monster is born alone, a monster will die alone, and…" This is where her green eyes turned crazed, again. "..I' am a monster."

Naruto didn't get it. "Come again?"

Gaara's smile turned feral. "You'll see." Naruto didn't like how happy she suddenly seemed. "When the next moon comes. You'll see." She walked so close to him that their nose almost touched.

"I'll show you my true form."

Next Release Date: January 2011