"Mariko!"

I bolted upright from my bed at the aggressive tone of my sister before turning to see the face the she devil herself, Mia. She was a really beautiful girl and had silky long blonde hair that reached the bottom of her back and bangs that fell gracefully over her forehead. Her eyes were an enchanting blue color that was narrowed with anger. Her soft red lips upturned into a snarl, showing her perfect pearly white teeth.

"Mariko! Just what were you thinking borrowing my sweater without my permission?!"

"Sorry, I got cold and couldn't find mine. It was only for a few minutes while I took a walk."

Mia walked over to the blue sweater that was laid out on the floor before snatching it up and folding it neatly over her arm.

"Next time, ask!"

With that she stormed out of my bedroom and slammed the door shut. Taking a deep breath I flopped back onto the bed and stretched. It was my first week living here in Suna and things were pretty tense with Mia and I. It wasn't like we hated each other, she was just stressing out a little bit from the move and unpacking and stuff. We both actually loved each other. I rolled out of bed before slowly crawling to the bathroom to shower off and wake up a little bit. The day was young, and I had nothing to do, so taking the day slowly was the best way to waste time. I already had all my stuff unpacked and put away. After all, I didn't have half as much stuff as Mia.

It was just her and I living there. We didn't have any parents. They both died in a war in Konoha so that left Mia to look after me and she wanted to move due to the depression of all the memories floating around our old house. She was good at pretending to be a parent, but I liked it better when she was a sister. Once I finished my shower I headed downstairs and to the door.

"Mia I'm going out!"

"Okay! Don't be back too late; dinner will be ready by 8."

"Okay!"

I begun to exit the house when Mia came around the corner giving a worried look at me.

"And remember to be careful. Don't trust anyone you don't know. And look out for that monster the villagers have been talking about. I don't want anything happening to you."

"Mia, I'll be fine, and a monster? Come on, they don't exist."

"I don't know. They all seem pretty worked up about this. I think that there may be something up. So just be careful and don't wander to a quiet area."

"Alright, don't worry I'll be careful."

She gave me the OK and I walked out the door and into the blazing Suna heat.

I chuckled inwardly to myself. Monster...psh, yeah right. There's no such thing as monsters. I started my journey around Suna. This place had a lot to offer and I memorized the areas I knew I'd be visiting. Taking a deep breath I looked towards the sky. The sun had almost gone so it was obviously getting pretty late. Checking my watch for the exact time it read 5.21. I still had time.

"Come on honey, the monster will be out soon, we should go inside."

"OK mommy."

I looked in the direction of a woman ushering her child inside their home. I scoffed at this. Monster, please! It's probably just some teenagers trying to scare people, and succeeding by the looks of it. But I didn't scare so easily, so I wasn't going to run for home just when I was getting to know the area and having so much fun doing it.

"Girl, shouldn't you be home by now?"

I looked to see a man around his late 30's. He was looking in my direction so that question was obviously for me.

"Nah, I think I'll stay out for a while."

"Well if the monster gets you, don't say I didn't warn you."

I heaved a big sigh. This monster business again?! These people were so simple minded. Although, I couldn't help but feel slightly threatened since the whole village seemed to be affected by this 'monster'. Although, my pride wouldn't allow me to run and hide like some scared child. Huffing after the man walked off I turned and went to continue on until I bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you there."

I looked up to see a young boy. He was around my age, with messy, flaming red hair and deep sea foam green eyes. And by God did he look like he needed sleep. Probably an insomniac. What drew my attention though was the love kanji etched into his forehead. I noticed that I was staring so shook myself off and giggled slightly.

"Heh, sorry again."

I went to walk past the boy since it seemed he wasn't going to reply when he finally spoke.

"Your eyes..."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Your eyes...they don't hold any hatred or fear..."

I was a little confused now and my tilted head proved that. He turned to face me and I merely blinked.

"Um, I'm sorry but, what are you talking about?"

"What is your name?"

"Oh, um... My name's Mariko."

"Mariko?"

"Yeah. What's yours?"

I smiled politely at him and he looked a little bit confused, even though it didn't show much.

"I am Gaara, of the desert."

"Pleasure to meet you."

I held your hand out to him for a shake, but he merely looked at it.

"Heh, not a person that wants to be touched eh? No worries."

I got an anime sweat drop. This guy was a little odd. I lent against the wall I was near and folded my arms neatly across my chest.

"So Gaara, what's the deal with this mon-"

"MONSTER!"

I jumped lightly at the sudden voice and turned to see the same man that confronted me earlier. He had a look of horror on his face and was looking directly at Gaara. I couldn't help but wonder why.

"Why?"

My attention turned to him and saw his expression held a look of...murder?

"Why do they all look at me like that?"

So this was a common occurrence for him?

"Young girl! Get away from him! He's a monster! He'll kill you!"

"Monster?"

I looked back at Gaara and cocked an eyebrow lightly before turning back to the man.

"I don't think so."

The man looked at me shocked, and so did Gaara, actually it seemed he wasn't used to people standing up for him.

"Your obviously new to this village, that...that beast! He has a demon sealed inside of him! He'll kill you!"

My expression darkened. So this is what the whole village is freaking out about.

"Listen here mister; I'm not interested in your story. Demon or not this guy is still a person with feelings!"

The man walked over to me and grabbed my arm tightly, trying to drag me away.

"Don't be foolish, we must leave! Now!"

"Hey! Let go of me!"

He continued to pull on my bruising arm but stopped when sand wrapped around his body and pulled him away. Sand then wrapped around my own body and moved me back to where Gaara was standing before lowering to the floor. I could hear the man's cries of pain as the sand slowly crushed him. My eyes widened in shock and horror at this. Gaara was going to kill him.

"Sand coff-"

"Stop!"

I grabbed hold of Gaara's arm and he looked down at me in wonder. I could feel the tears in my eyes, I knew he was about to kill this man, and I didn't want that to happen.

"Please stop."

Gaara's gaze softened slightly before he released his hold on the man who ran away quickly after he was let go.

"Why did you want me to stop?"

"I know that man was wrong to treat you the way he did. The whole village is. But killing isn't the answer. And I know you're a better person then that. You don't need to kill someone to get your point across. It will just make people fear you more."

"I'm a...better person?"

"Yeah, I don't think you're a monster, you're just a boy that's different, just like everybody else."

"Different? I'm just like...like everybody else?"

"Uh huh, if everyone were the same, then life would be boring. You're just different. That makes you unique and special, not a monster."

Gaara seemed shocked by my kind words. He had obviously never had a friend before and I felt a sympathy for the boy. Then I decided to do something in hopes of making him feel that little bit better. I reached out to him and embraced him in a hug. He didn't react, just stood there for a moment. By merely touching him, I could feel just how alone in this world he was, how he needed someone to be there for him.

"I'll never leave you Gaara. You'll never have to worry about being alone again."

He then started to react and place his arms around me as well, settling into the hug, albeit a little edgy.

"I feel strange..."

I looked up at the red head and saw him looking down at me with soft sea foam eyes.

"It's normally pain I feel in my heart, but now something different has taken its place. It's all warm and welcoming and I like it."

I smiled lightly at him before leaning back a little bit so I could see him better.

"That's love Gaara."

"Love? I had heard of it, but never felt it."

"Well now you have, and don't worry, I love you too. More like a friend at the moment, but it's still a kind of love. And I'll never let you be alone again. Who knows, I may grow to love you in a different way one day too."

"So you don't think I'm a monster? You don't hate me?"

I shook my head before holding him tighter to get my point across to him.

"No, I think you're perfect the way you are."

"And, there are different types of love?"

"Yeah, this is more of a friendship love, but who knows. It might advance later in life."

"Is that good?"

"It's better."

"If it's better than this. I'd like that a lot."

I smiled and hugged him again before closing my eyes in contempt. I told my sister there was no such thing as monsters.