Hello, everyone. Welcome to my second story, my first ever Naruto fic. I think this one is at least okay, but that decision is not up to me, now is it? Read, enjoy, review, tell your friends, and possibly get some snacks. Shh, it's starting!

Go Back To Sleep

The baby had been born the day before, and no one was sure how to react. It was a cute baby, as babies usually are, and it promised a better future for Sunagakure's military. But although it looked like one, no one was fooled into thinking it was human; it was a monster in a deceptive infant form, and no matter how much good it could bring, it would inevitably bring an even bigger array of terrible things as well.

Because of what it was, everyone either saw it as a weapon, what it was supposed to be, or a monster, what it was. Its trickery caught no one off guard; everyone knew what was inside of it, and it made them hate and fear it. They knew what it did to its family. It was evil.

But regardless of what people thought of it, it belonged to the Kazekage, and he was to be respected. They could hate and fear it all they wanted as long as they let it thrive and coexist, because they wouldn't want to insult the Kazekage. It was his idea, after all.

It was currently cradled in the arms of this man, its father, silently watching his face. He was standing outside on the flat portion of the roof of the council building, watching the baby in a similar manner. Every once in a while it would yawn, shift slightly, and its eyelids would feel heavy and vaguely attempt to fight an urge to close. Each time this happened the Kazekage would nudge it gently so as to wake it, for he did not want it to fall asleep. He wasn't sure how long it would take, or even if it would work at all, but he would keep trying until it no longer felt the need to sleep. Once again it yawned. The Kazekage tapped it lightly on the forehead, and turned around to face his brother-in-law, who had just shown up behind him.

"Sir, if you would prefer, I could take over for you so that you can get some rest," he said.

The Kazekage stared at the new arrival for a second before responding. "Not quite yet, Yashamaru. I am his father, but more importantly I am his master, and it's best that this is established as early as possible." His eyes darted worriedly to the baby, then back to its uncle when he saw that it was still awake. Yashamaru sighed as he closed his eyes and bowed.

"Alright, sir. I thought that maybe you were tired, seeing as you have been awake with Gaara since he was born yesterday. It is not conducive to your health to go without sleep for as long as you plan to."

The Kazekage sighed as well, letting the air seep slowly through his nose as he turned back to the baby and watched it yawn again. He reached out and pinched its nose.

"You are dismissed, Yashamaru," he said, watching the baby squirm as it struggled for air. He rearranged his hand so that his palm covered its mouth as well, just as it was about to stabilize its breath. The sand below his feet trembled and swilled as it flailed and cried in a vain attempt to escape his restricting grasp.

"Sir-"

"You are dismissed."

He released his grip on the babies face when he saw its eyes loose focus and roll aimlessly around in their sockets. Its breath returned, deep and jolted from its gaping mouth. From behind them there could be heard a sharp intake of air coming from Yashamaru. He turned around again, irked by his in-laws disobedience. But as he prepared to speak he was distracted by the appearance of two small children through the roof entrance door. The smaller of the two walked slowly and unsteadily over the sand-coated floor, guided by the other, slightly bigger and more balanced child, by the hand. Together they toddled towards him, and he stared at them blankly as they advanced.

"Papa, Kankuro looks sick and Chiyo says there's a meeting," said the latter. "Um…now…"

The Kazekage blinked.

"Temari, take this," he said as he bent over and carefully dropped the baby into her arms. "Make sure he stays awake."

He ignored everyone he walked by as he headed for the exit. When he was gone, Yashamaru walked over to the three children and squatted in front of Kankuro. He looked into the boys flushed face with genuine concern, silently asking what the problem was. Kankuros eyes became clouded once again with tears as his sister held the babys right eye open with her fingers. She watched despondently as its eyelids jerked against the hold she had over them.

As Kankuro began sobbing, Temari let go of the captured pair of eyelids and felt her lip tremble. Before she made any noise, though, it began whimpering quietly, as if it wanted to follow suit but could not. As if distracted by her own urge to cry, she put the baby on the ground and wobbled over to Yashamaru.

"Gaara, something's wrong with Gaara, uncle," she whined, tugging his sleeve.

"Temari, not now," he responded, waving her of dismissively as he tried to calm her wailing brother.

"But!"

Two feet away the baby she had abandoned lay calmly on its back, its only movement in the form of blinking. Again it yawned, clenching its little fists and shutting its eyes. A soft breeze flowed past gently and lulled it to sleep.

Even though it was pitch dark, the baby could still see. It lay on its side, staring silently at its surroundings. It found itself on a splintered wooden floor, its elbow digging into a loose nail, in a room with four rusted green walls. The wall it faced was occupied primarily by a wide cell, sealed by thick metal bars approximately one foot apart from each other. Engraved into the walls and floor were deep scratches; grains of sand sat embedded in the fragmented layers.

The baby inhaled the dry, motionless air. It was responded to with a much louder, stronger intake of breath. Soon after a gust of wind sighed forth from inside of the cell. The baby shivered and squirmed uncomfortably.

A giant yellow eye appeared behind the bars of the cell. It disappeared, and then reappeared along with another identical eye. As whatever the source of the eyes was began to laugh, it moved forwards and came into full view. A monster, seemingly made of stone, crouched on four legs and breathed, giving the illusion of an animated statue.

The monster sniffed the air, and then stared at the baby.

"Who are you?" it said in a loud, shrieking voice.

The baby's eyes grew wide, its entire body frozen in terror. The monster drew forth an immense set of claws and fitted them in the gaps between the bars. With minimal effort the monster tore most of the bars from the wall and brought its head through the opening. It looked down at the baby with a facial expression closely related to a grin.

"It's always a baby," it shouted. "Does it always have to be a baby?"

It reached for the baby with an enormous paw and cautiously felt the side of its face. With a quick, fluid movement it grabbed the babies ear and ripped it off. Blood poured from the wound as the baby cried in pain. Temporarily blinded by a white light that blocked its vision, it could not see the floating grains of sand, buzzing around the room like flies. But it could feel them as they concentrated and latched onto the spot were its ear had been. They coated its wound, absorbing its blood and scraping its intact flesh until it broke. The baby howled in response to the searing pain, and heard the monster cackling happily as the white light became black

"Uncle!" Temari moaned, pulling at his arm and calling for him for the umpteenth time. Kankuro had his face buried in his hands, and Yashamaru tried to comfort him as best he could, but the incessant whining of his niece was becoming unbearable. "Temari, what do you want?" he asked, finally acknowledging her complaints.

The little girls eyes darted back and forth once, and she pointed at the spot she had left the baby in. "Gaara, something's wrong with Gaara, uncle," she whispered, as if confiding a secret.

Yashamaru followed the direction of her finger and his eyes fell to the baby. It was still lying on the floor, but it was covered in sand. Sand flew in all directions, orbiting the baby's body and seemingly crushing it under its weight.

"Gaara!" he exclaimed, and released Kankuro so that he could grab the baby instead. He shook it lightly until it woke up. It's eyes shot open, wide and bloodshot, and did not close. The two of them stayed this position even as the Kazekage returned, appearing before them in a flurry of sand and wind. He stared coldly at Yashamaru, then at the baby, and then at Yashamaru again.

"He was asleep," he stated grimly.

Yashamaru looked down, away from the Kazekages scolding eyes. "Yes, sir, I think he was." Yashamaru swallowed, although his mouth was dry, and looked at his niece and nephew. Temari had been watching her brother, and had begun crying as well, although not as loudly as with less moisture. His eyes traveled back to the baby he held. It's eyes were still the same. It was breath heavy and unstable. He swallowed once again and, without looking up, handed the baby to its enraged father.

"I apologize. Hopefully I can make up for my foolish mistake somehow. I am truly sorry."

The Kazekage continued to stare. There were blood vessels visible in his eyes as he accepted the baby and looked at his other two children.

"I suppose his first training session is over," he said.

And the baby stayed awake for a very long time.