GAARA

&

CRYSTAL

Chapter 1: the reunion Gaara sat alone by the lake in Konoha staring at his reflection in the water. The only reason he was at Konoha was because Orochimaru had taken control over the Sand Village and shoved all residents out. The Kazekage had formed an alliance with Konoha in order to keep his village from dying out. Gaara was thinking about an old friend that had mysteriously vanished when he was seven. He'd only known the girl for three months before she disappeared one night in late September. Her name was Crystal and she was the first real friend Gaara had ever had. He remembered her short slivery white hair and her dark eyes the most when he gazed to the stars. She would always wear white and helped Gaara any spare moment. When he was shunned by everyone she came up to him and asked if she could hug him so he would feel better. Crystal would stay up with him at night and then sleep during the day for a few hours while Gaara watched her. She didn't have a family or a home so Crystal would lay down by a tree and nap for a few hours knowing that Gaara was there to protect her. Gaara didn't think about it that much because when he had found her missing that rainy September morning around 6:00 he started crying. Thinking of her brought tears back to his eyes and he didn't like it. What he saw in the distance shocked him. A girl with silvery hair was coming into Konoha. "Crystal?!" Gaara muttered. She was coming in looking really bad like she had been attacked by dogs. Her arms were covered in bruises and her right eye was closed from a black eye. She wobbled over to Gaara and collapsed on top of him. "Now what do I do?" Gaara muttered as he headed for Sakura's house and knocked on the door. "It's three in the morning, what could you possibly…" Sakura started, than she looked at the girl who may or may not be Crystal and said, "Ugh, follow me." Gaara followed her to the hospital and up to the office. "We have a patient for you." Sakura said as she gestured to Gaara's arms. "Alright I'll see what I can do." Tsunade said from behind the desk. the next day "Crystal…Crystal…you awake yet?" Gaara said as he sat on the hospital bed next to the mystery girl who may or may not be Crystal. "Ga-Gaara?" the girl asked in a high cracked voice. It was as if she had been screaming and she lost her voiced almost. "I'll answer if you're Crystal- the girl who was my only friend and then up and vanished on me." Gaara said slowly as he handed her a glass of water. "Yes. And I am still your friend and your very first friend at that." Crystal murmured as she looked up at Gaara with two dark eyes. "It is you!" Gaara smiled. "Yeah, I'm sorry I vanished on you. someone was following me and I couldn't put you in danger." Crystal whispered. "Do you hate me now?" "No, of coarse not. I missed you so much." Gaara said looking away. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Don't cry Gaara-kun." Crystal said. "I have to tell you something, but not here, somewhere secluded and private where no one is around." "There's the forest at night. No one is in the forest at night." Gaara smiled. "Too many creepy crawly monsters and bugs. Although Shino did go in there to catch lightning bugs one night about a week ago." "A twelve-year-old catching lightning bugs. Now that's funny." Crystal giggled. Kakashi walked in then and looked at Crystal, "Good you're awake. I need to talk to you, in private." He said the two words after the comma to Gaara. Once Gaara had left Kakashi turned to Crystal and said, "Why did you come here?" "Gaara was here." Crystal answered. She acted as though she was being interrogated. "How did you know he was here if he lives in the Sand Village?" "News travels fast through the five great nations." "Who are you" "Crystal, age twelve." "Why do you have a curse mark?" Crystal put a hand on her neck and said fiercely, "Same way anyone got one." "Did you follow Orochimaru or what?" "I did not follow that evil…monster! He killed my parents!" "How do you know Gaara?" "I am his first friend that he made while he was a child." "Why does your breath smell like blood?" "None of your business!" "It is all of my business!"

"No it isn't!"

"Fine, maybe you'll listen if I tell you something."

"And that would be?"

"That either you tell me these answers or I hope you will be okay having Gaara in pieces."

"What?!"

"Gaara is currently in the hall tied up and my students can kill him if I give the order."

"Fine. But I want Gaara in here to hear this. I was going to tell him this later, but you changed the order of things." Crystal demanded.

"That's a fair deal." Kakashi said, "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke…bring in Gaara."

They all dragged Gaara into the room. "Gaara I know you didn't know about this but I also have a demon sealed within me. It's kind of like a vampire and needs blood so it takes advantage of the new moon and feasts off people and uses me. The reason I was so hurt last night was because I had to defend myself when the demon decided to attack the Sand Village. I didn't want you to be there because the demon likes feeding off of boys. I was afraid that I would kill you if I did. I got found by Kabuto and he did a number on me." Crystal confessed

"That was interesting." Kakashi said. "Let Gaara go."

"Aww. I wanted to kill him." Sasuke whined.

"Shut up Sasuke!" Naruto growled as he untied Gaara's restraints.

"What was that all about Kakashi? Why did you tie me up!" Gaara yelled.

"I knew that you two knew each other and I needed a way to get Crystal to listen to me if she didn't answer my questions." He explained.

"Crystal, why didn't you tell me all of that before?"

"I thought you would hate me." Crystal confessed.

"I would never hate you Crystal." Gaara said sweetly. He turned to team seven and glared at them all, "Can you all get lost!"

"Sure Gaara. Wouldn't want to intrude." Naruto smiled uneasily, and they all left.

"Why did you think I would get mad and hate you?" Gaara asked sweetly.

"I just…" Crystal stammered.

Gaara leaned in and kissed her so passionately if it was like he held the love of everyone in the world in his two lips.

He kissed her for two minutes until Tsunade came in and she said, "Don't get her too excited. Her blood pressure is high enough as it is, Gaara."

"Sorry Lady Tsunade." Gaara apologized.

"I need you to take this, sweetie." Tsunade smiled as she held a small pill in her hand in front of Crystal.

"Alright." Crystal said as she took the pill.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Why not ask Kakashi Hatake." Crystal growled.

"I didn't authorize an interrogation!" Tsunade growled.

"Might tell him that. He tied me up as a lure to get Crystal to tack." Gaara moaned.

"I'm gonna have a word with him." She snapped than left.

"………that was…..awkward…"Crystal mumbled, then turned her head and became unconscious.

Chapter 2: remembrance

"Gaara-kun?" Crystal woke up to find Gaara gone. She walked over to the window and peered at the lake. Gaara was there. She jumped out the window and ran up to him. "Gaara-kun!"

"Huh?" Gaara said looking up at Crystal, "Oh, I thought you might have been Sakura. She has had a crush on me for a while now. It's more than half way annoying."

"Really?" Crystal said as she sat down newt to him and tucked her silver skirt under her as she sat.

"Yeah, even though she likes Sasuke she still goes after me." Gaara shrugged.

"Remember when we first met?"

"Yeah." Crystal smiled, "You were hurt and floating face-down in a lake near my village so I jumped in and dragged you out."

"Yup." Gaara said. "Remember how Temari reacted to you when she found out that the person who saved her little brother's life was you?"

"Now that was creepy." Crystal shivered.

"She started hugging you and thanking you so many times. I am very surprised that you could even breathe." Gaara added.

"I couldn't actually…" Crystal laughed.

"HEY! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Naruto whined from his window.

Twenty differently lights went on in houses all around. Gaara and Crystal both jumped into the lake at the same time to take away suspicion.

"Naruto go back to sleep!" Kakashi came out of his house towards Naruto. "You're obviously hallucinating."