At Wind Country, in the Sand Village...
Gaara sits alone on a swing holding his teddy bear, watching a group of boys play soccer in front of him.
"Here! Pass it! Oh crap!" The soccer ball gets stuck on top of a nearby wall.
"What do we do now? We can't climb walls yet."
Suddenly, a portion of sand rises to the ball, picks up the ball, and slowly lands on Gaara's hands.
"Y… you… you are… Ga…Gaa… Gaara! Its Gaara of the Sand!" says one kid, "R…Run for it!"
"Wait," Gaara cries, "Don't leave me alone!" As Gaara raises his hand, wishing they can stop running away from him, sand rises in front of Gaara, and holds the kids in place. Apparently his body is too small to contain the power inside him, and he cannot control it very well.
"Ahh! Help! Let go of me!"
Gaara whimpers, "I… I… just don't want to be alone anymore…" Sand continues to hold the kids in place.
A man screams, "Lord Gaara, please calm yourself down!" Gaara released the children, and in his mind, cursed himself for being so dangerous to the world, as he stared at the children he has knocked unconscious.
Back in his room, Gaara tries to cut himself on his wrist with a knife. "It's no use. The sand keeps getting in the way. Sigh…"
His uncle Yashamaru comes in. "As a member of your medical team at the Kazekage's command, my job is to protect you, Gaara, from any harm, so please do not try to cut yourself, although the sand will protect you anyways." Yashamaru grins.
"I'm sorry…" Gaara mutters, "I was just wondering, do injuries hurt?"
"…Oh this?" Yashamaru points at his bandaged forehead. "It hurts a little, but it is not a serious injury."
"Hey Yashamaru."
"Yes?"
Gaara looks up at him, "What is pain? I never got injured so… I wonder what it is like."
Silence fills the room.
"Hmmm…. How should I put it? Afflictive... or dreadful… like when you are beaten or cut…" There was silence as Yashamaru thought. "In short, you are in an unbearable condition in which you feel like you are unable to stay in your usual self. I cannot explain it very well, but I can only say that it feels very unpleasant." He grinned.
"Yashamaru… then… do you… hate me?" asks Gaara. Yashamaru stares at him, and smiles.
"In life there are times people can inflict pain and get hurt by others, but it is not that easy to dislike someone from such experience." Yashamaru states with a grin.
Gaara smiles. "Thank you Yashamaru, I think I understand what pain is."
"Is that so?"
"Then, does that mean I am injured just like everyone else?" Gaara asks. Yashamaru becomes surprised at his question. "I always feel pain…"
"Although it does not bleed, this part hurts so much." Gaara points to his heart, sadly.
Yashamaru takes Gaara's knife. He cuts himself on his finger, and shows Gaara. Gaara flinches.
"Bodies bleed upon physical injuries, and they may look quite harmful. But eventually, the pain will wear off as time passes, and they can heal faster with medical help."
"Continue…"
"But there are more serious injuries than physical injuries. Those are emotional injuries. They are much harder to heal than physical injuries." He puts a hand on his chest. "And they usually hurt right here."
"Emotional injuries…?"
"Physical and emotional injuries are different," Yashamaru states, "Unlike physical injuries, there is no medicine available to heal emotional injuries, and the pain may never go away."
Gaara becomes overwhelmed with sorrow.
"Don't be sad Gaara. There is one thing that can stop such emotional pain."
"Really? What is it?"
There was a pause. "As inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given to you by somebody other than yourself." Yashamaru glances at a picture of Gaara's mother sitting on Gaara's desk. "…It is love."
"Love? H… How can I receive that?" Gaara asks with hope.
Yashamaru smiles at him. "Lord Gaara, you are already receiving it."
"Huh?"
"Love is… care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you. Like what your mother had for you." Yashamaru's eyes turn to the picture of Gaara's mother. "I believe she loved you so very much. The Sand Shukaku is primarily a living spirit specialized in attacks. Its automatic defense is a proof of material affection. Your mother's will remained in the sand to protect you."
"Mommy…" Tears began to form in Gaara's eyes.
"Even after death, she wished to be there for you."
There was another pause. "Hey Yashamaru. About today, thank you for stopping me." Gaara shows a faint smile.
"You are very welcome." Yashamaru smiles. "After all, Lord Gaara, you are the precious one around me!"
"Yashamaru, I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"I want some ointments…"
With his ointments, Gaara happily trotts to the house of one of the children he injured. He knocks on the door. "I'm sorry about earlier. Please use this ointment. It will help you feel better."
"Go away you monster." The kid slams the door on Gaara. He stood there… wondering why. Why does everyone hate him?
Sadly, he walks across town back to his bedroom. On the way he bumps onto a man.
"Watch it you little brat!"
Gaara's eyes begin to burn with rage, as he stared at the man in the corner of his eye.
"Y… You… You are..!" The man becomes terrified.
As his eyes fill with rage, Gaara thought, "Why? Why does everybody hate me?"
With haste, sand surrounds the man forming a coffin of sand, and crushes him to the ground, killing him. The villagers around him stood in place, staring at him with discust as he walked back to his room.
That night, Gaara sat on the roof of his bedroom, filled with pain and sorrow. Here, it is only him and the sand around the village. He looked up and saw a shooting star shoot across the sky. He was the only one that probably saw it in the cold midnight, but he was too depressed to make a wish. Being miserable for life, it would take a great miracle for his life to turn around.
"I knew it I knew it I knew it. My life will never change. How come, only I am such a dangerous monster and nobody else? What exactly am I?"
"There is only one thing that can stop such emotional pain. It is love."
"I never chose to be a monster…Yashamaru…"
Suddenly, a rain of kunai knives (throwing knives) are thrown at Gaara from behind. Luckily the sand instantly blocked all of the kunais that were aimed for his back. Gaara turns around.
"What? Why me? WHY ME? Why must it be me?"
Another rain of kunais are thrown at him from the masked ninja. Immediately, Gaara blocked the kunais, and directed the sand to trap and crush him. Gaara dashed to the masked ninja, and gasped as he unmasked the ninja he had injured.
"…Impressive… Lord Gaara." It was Yashamaru.
Gaara, in shock, gripped his heart and his head. Full of confusion, Gaara let out a long, loud cry. Tears started to fall down his cheeks. Over and over, in a pattern, he continued to feel that pain ever since his birth. This is his emotional pain. It never escapes him.
"W… Why… Why… Why is this… Why you? Why you?"
"Love is care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you… Lord Gaara, you are the precious one around me!"
"Why?" Tears continue to fall down his cheeks. "Always… You were always… only you were my… friend!"
"It was an order. I was ordered to assassinate you, by your father – the Kazekage."
""
"My father?" Gaara gripped his heart, and he spat blood out of his mouth. "Why… why would he want me dead?"
"…You were born to be possessed by the Sand Shukaku. Until today, you have been watched over as an experimental subject. However, you are yet unable to control the powers of the living Shukaku. Before long your existence will become too dangerous for the village itself. We the sand village, could not let that happen."
"Then… does that mean you had no choice? It was because of father…" Gaara showed a hopeful smile. His father hated him, but maybe Yashamaru still loves him.
"No. You made a mistake. Yes I did receive the order from your father, but I could have declined it if I wanted to.
""
"Gaara… deep down inside me, I must have always… thought of you as an annoyance. For coming into this world, stealing life away from my beloved sister, or in other words your mother. I tried my best to love you by thinking of you as her memento, but I could not."
"?"
"She never wished to give birth to you. She was sacrificed for the village and therefore died while cursing at it. Ever since then, I have been carrying emotional scars that never healed."
"Unlike physical pain, there is no medicine available for emotional pain, and the pain may never go away." Gaara continues to cry.
"Your mother gave you your name. She said, 'The child's name is Gaara, a demon that loves only himself.' Love only yourself, and fight only for your sake. She wished and believed that your existence is forever as long as you live, but she did not give you your name out of concern or love for you.
"…"
"That name was given to you in hope of your eternal existence… to let your mother's grudge be passed down to generations, and be known to the world."
"Gaara… you were never loved!"
"Now… please die Gaara."
He unzipped her vest, where a pile of letter bombs sat inside. The letter bombs exploded, in attempt to destroy Gaara once and for all. Yashamaru is killed, but Gaara's sand instantly formed a giant shield to protect him from the explosion.
"I believed she loved you so very much." "Love?"
"It's automatic perfect defense is a proof of material affection."
"Ugh…"
"Your mother's will remained in the sand to protect you."
"Ahh… AAhhh…"
"It's love."
"RHAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Rage boils up in Gaara. His sand surrounds his head, and forges the word "Love" on his forhead. The shield of sand begins to break up and drip to the ground.
"Love only yourself, and fight for only your sake."
He shows a serious expression on his face. "That's right… that's me… Gaara… Gaara of the Sand. I finally understand now."
"I am alone. I won't trust anybody any more. I won't love. I'm on my own. Haha… That's right… I'm all alone."
"I'm all alone…"