Authors note: Me? Own Naruto? Oh how I wish :( but sadly I don't. this story takes place a year before Yashamaru tries to assassinate Gaara so he's about five years old. The fic's rating is because this story is about Gaara, its half drama because its about Gaara and part comedy 'cause he's five

It was a bright warm day with only a few clouds in the sky, the wind gently stirred the sand underneath the children's feet. The children played together laughing and shouting to one another as they kicked the ball around, each team trying to steer the ball towards the others teams goal. Only one child sat apart from all the rest; though he wanted to join in so very much… he simply sat where he was on a swing by himself clutching his teddy bear in one arm. He looked to be about four or five years old. His green eyes rimmed with blackness watched the children longingly, but he knew from past experience that if he tried to join in they would just scream and run away. So he sat there hoping to feel a little happy about at least being close to them.

It was better than being alone all together.

The young boy watched for a few moments more, rocking back and forth slightly on the swing as the setting sun made his ruby red hair shine a brighter deeper red. Finally the boy got up and started walking back towards the village. His eyes were downcast without a second glance back at the children still playing behind him he simply wrapped his arms around his bear as he walked homeward. Yashamaru was probably waiting for him to get home… and he didn't want him to worry. He walked silently down the streets of the village not looking up at any of the people who seemed to be purposefully going out of their way to walk as far around him as possible. Why… why is it just me… only me… he thought to himself as he gritted his teeth against the pain he felt rising in his chest.

He opened the door to his home and closed it silently behind him, he was about to go up to his room to put his bear away he heard Yashamaru call out to him.

"Gaara Sama? Is that you?" his voice was kind and friendly… he was the only one he knew of who talked to him without sounding scared or just simply screaming. Gaara's mother had died giving birth to him and her brother, Yashamaru, was the one who had raised him in her stead.

"Yes Yashamaru I'm home." He called back smiling a little.

"I'm preparing dinner, would you like to help?"

"Ok!" He called running into the kitchen. He propped his bear up on the table so he could watch before dragging one of the chairs over to the kitchen counter next to Yashamaru. He smiled down at his charge as he brushed a stray strand of blond hair out of his face leaving a flour smudge on his forehead.

"Here you go, give this a good stir for about three minutes ok?" Yashamaru placed a bowel in front of Gaara and handed him a wooden spoon.

"Alright." He said with a quick nod as he stabbed the batter with the wooden spoon and began stirring it as fast as possible. This proved to be slightly ineffective however as the bowl began to spin along with the batter. After grappling the bowl with one arm he managed to stir the batter for three minutes without loosing too much of it.

"Is this good?" Gaara asked looking up at Yashamaru holding out the bowl for him to see.

"Yes that looks good Gaara Sama thank you for your help." He smiled up at him as he placed the bowl back on the counter and jumped off the chair. Placing the chair back where it belonged he turned to watch Yashamaru place their dinner in the oven and set the timer.

"Y… Yashamaru?" he asked quietly.

"Yes Gaara Sama?" he asked turning to look at him.

"Why can't I play with anyone?" Yashamaru looked at him slightly confused for a moment.

"What do you mean Gaara Sama?"

"Well… any time I try to play with anyone they just run away. Why?" he looked up at his guardian his eyes full of sadness and confusion. Yashamaru gave a sad smile, uncertain as to how to explain to a little four year old boy the real reason as to why people acted the way they did when they saw him.

"Perhaps… perhaps it is simply because they don't know you." Gaara looked up at him confused. "Many times people are afraid of things they know nothing about." He smiled hoping that would be enough.

"So… if they got to know me, then maybe they won't be scared?" he asked looking hopeful.

"Maybe; but for now why don't you go take a quick bath before dinner, hm?" Gaara nodded and went to his bedroom to grab his pajamas from under the pillow before going into the bathroom.

He swirled his hands about in the water as he waited for the bathtub to fill. There wasn't really much point in bathing, the sand kept him clean, it was more fun than anything else, and it felt nice; especially when Yashamaru let him use the sticky stuff in a bottle that made the bath full with bubbles. He thought as he watched his hands make tiny waves in the bath, how will they get to know me if they always run away from me? He wondered. Maybe… if I think really hard, I'll think of a way to show them they don't have to be scared. He thought it over and over in his head trying to think of something he could do as he washed then played in the bath till the water was cold and Yashamaru called him down to dinner.

He was silent throughout the evening meal despite his uncle's attempts to talk to his young charge. He simply ate his food slowly still lost in thought, there had to be something… anything; if there was a way, he wanted to at least try. He was tired of being alone… it hurt too much.

The rest of the evening was just as uneventful. Gaara played with his building blocks making a castle as high as he could using all the blocks before he would gently press against it causing it to topple over which sent the pieces scattering over the floor. Looking around at the mess he simply picked up the closest piece and began again.

"Gaara sama?" he looked up from his current castle at his uncle who stood in the doorway. "It's getting late, I need to get some sleep for tomorrow; your father the Kazekage requested I meet him in the morning." Gaara looked down at the wooden block in his hand and gave a small nod as he added it to the others. Usually Yashamaru tried to stay up with him through the night: he never liked it when he had to stay up alone… it was scary. "I've made something for you to eat if you get hungry before breakfast; it's on the table alright?"

"Alright…" came the small reply. Yashamaru walked into the room and lifted him up out of his castle. Holding him in his arm he placed a kiss on top the boys head and ruffled his hair.

"I love you Gaara Sama, goodnight." He said with a smile.

"I love you too! Goodnight." Gaara said smiling brightly. Once Yashamaru had carefully placed him back down inside his castle and left he looked at his current creation. Deciding not to knock this one down he carefully crawled out from it and left it where it was then headed his bedroom.

His room looked like any other child's bedroom; toys randomly scattered, a closet, a bed, although the bed was more for decoration than anything else. Walking over to his bed he pulled of the top sheet and went out to the balcony and over to the outside wall to his room. He squinted up at the roof as he tried to concentrate; I just have to think about it and it should work. Sure enough the sand gathered beneath Gaara's feet and lifted him up to the roof and placed him gently down. He spread the blanket out on the roof then brought it in bunching it together as if he was making a nest. Once he had the blanket snuggled around him to his satisfaction he turned his attention up to the stars. In the silence of the night he silently went over the name of every constellation he could remember and when he couldn't name any more, he would watch the stars that moved completely fascinated and bewildered by the fact that some of the stars moved while others didn't. This was how he spent most of his nights, staring up at the vast sky contemplating the stars. It always made him feel better somehow; watching the stars slowly moving. And the moon; he especially loved trying to find it when there was a new moon.

Halfway through his stargazing he went back inside to get the lunchbox Yashamaru had left for him then returned to his spot where he sat till the light of predawn began to creep through the sky making it impossible to see any stars. He waited and watched till the last star had faded from the sky before going back down to see if Yashamaru was awake yet.

Yashamaru was awake and ways hurrying around the kitchen trying to get breakfast ready before he left.

"Good morning Gaara Sama, were you alright last night?" He asked as he pulled some plates from the cupboard and set them on the table. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay awake with you last night; I'll stay up really late with you tonight and tell you stories till the sun comes up alright?" Gaara nodded and gave a small smile.

"Now I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a rush this morning, I overslept a bit…is toast alright?" he asked as he placed jars filled with different types of jam on the table followed by two glasses. Gaara tried to help his uncle by pulling the juice out of the fridge; however a two liter jug of juice proved to be a bit too heavy for the four year old. Yashamaru simply smiled and took it from him once he noticed the boy dragging it across the floor in an attempt to get it to the table.

As Gaara finished his last piece of toast he heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" he yelled jumping down from his chair and running over to the front door. He paused for a moment looking up at the doorknob before he stretched up on tiptoe which was just enough for him to manage to wrap his fingers around the doorknob. Twisting the doorknob he scooted back slightly keeping on tiptoe till he was sure he had opened the door enough. Letting go he placed his feet flat on the ground again and peeked around the door to see who it was. Gaara looked up at the tall man on the other side. He was dressed like any other Chunin, with the village's headband across his forehead. His head was wrapped in what looked like white bandages with a piece of cloth hanging down from the headband to cover half of his face. The part of his face that was visible had two red slash like marks painted on his face. Gaara smiled up at the man and threw the door the rest of the way open.

"BAKI!" He cried loudly in delight as he threw himself around the mans leg hugging it tight.

"Good morning Gaara, Yashamaru asked that I watch over you while he is out today." He said, his voice deep and gruff. Gaara simply grinned up at the big man and sat down on his foot as he tried to walk into the house. Not really hindered by the additional weight Baki walked into the house carrying Gaara along on his foot.

"Oh good you're here." Yashamaru said thankfully to Baki as he hurried towards him his medicinal pack slung over one shoulder. "Now you know where everything is and everything… ok I guess I'm off." He knelt down to place a kiss on Gaara's forehead. He looked up sadly at Yashamaru with such sad puppy eyes as he asked him why he couldn't just tell his father that he was sick and had to stay home.

"Gaara Sama Kazekage needs me," he said ruffling the boy's hair fondly. "So you be a good boy for Baki till I get back alright?"

"Alright…"

"Good boy." And with that Yashamaru was gone. Gaara tried to keep himself amused with the many toys that had been bought for him while Baki sat and worked on the scrolls he had brought with him but soon found it all to be more boring than he could stand. He tried poking Baki repetitively while asking him to play with him but he was refused. He then tried running around the couch and table Baki was working on in hopes of getting the man to pay him some attention but he simply told him to be careful not to trip. Deciding to give up on the idea of having Baki play with him he returned to his room. He sat on his bed for a bit thinking to himself. He had thought of a way to talk to the other kids and he wanted to try it out; unfortunately he was certain Baki wouldn't let him leave to try. Creeping out of his bedroom he went into the living room to look in on Baki. He was still going over his scrolls and looked like he still had a few more to go. Thinking for a moment he walked into the room, hands behind his back trying not to look like he was up to something.

"Baki, I want a cookie." Baki looked up from his current scroll and placed it down on the table. He walked into the kitchen with Gaara trailing behind him. Opening the cupboard he took the box of cookies off from the top shelf and handed it to Gaara.

"Just try not to eat all of them alright?" Gaara nodded as he hugged the cookie box close as if it were as precious to him as his Teddy bear. "I hope your keeping yourself entertained. I've got some paperwork I need to finish by tomorrow afternoon." Gaara nodded.

"Yep, I've been drawing and playing and jumping on my bed…" Baki nodded each time Gaara listed one of the many things he had been doing as he walked back into the living room.

"That's good; just make sure to keep behaving yourself till Yashamaru comes back alright?"

"Alright I will!" Gaara shouted as he ran back to his room. He placed the box of cookies on the floor and took one out. As he ate it he picked his bear up from its place on the toy chest. In Gaara's child mind he went over his plan. If he was in here with toys and food Baki probably wouldn't come in and check on him any time soon because he had food and toys and he had promised to keep behaving himself. Although Gaara believed he would still be behaving himself… Baki never told him to stay in his room and behave himself after all. So after getting another cookie from the box and with teddy in hand he walked out onto the balcony. Looking over the edge he waited till he couldn't see anyone below. Scrambling up onto the railing Gaara pushed himself off over the edge. He barely fell a few inches before the sand gathered around him and placed him gently on solid ground. He looked around quickly hoping no one had noticed, luckily no one had appeared on the path in front of his house since he last looked. Smiling to himself he ran down the street clutching his bear heading towards the playground in hopes of trying out his idea.

Once at the playground Gaara took his usual spot on the swing. He suddenly felt scared about approaching the others, even though he was sure his idea would work. He looked over at the other kids playing and began to silently name them off one by one. He had watched them so many times now he knew each and everyone of their names, and favorite colors, and all kinds of things like that. As he was naming them he realized there was a new girl playing with them today. She wore brown sandals and dark blue shorts with a light tan shirt. Her light brown hair was held back in a pony tail that still seemed to reach halfway down her back. She laughed and played with the others kicking the ball around. He watched her straining his ears hoping someone would call out to her to pass them the ball so he could find out what her name was.

"Here! Here! Pass it this way!"

"Oh no you don't!"

"Hey that was my ball."

"Well its mine now!"

"Make a goal shot!" the girl quickly stopped and swung her leg back as if she planned to kick it with everything she had.

"Intervention!" one of the boys shouted out as he ran and slid foot first in hopes of hitting the ball out of they way. They both connected with the ball at the same time causing the ball to soar right up. Everyone shielded their eyes as they tried to watch the ball to see where it was going to land. Gaara watched as well and realized the ball was going to land right in front of him. Dropping his bear quickly he got off the swing and placed himself right where he hoped the ball was going to land. Holding out his hands the ball landed with a soft 'thump' in his hands, the impact cushioned by the sand. Looking up at the others Gaara held the ball out to them smiling hopefully.

"Here…"

"Run!" one of them screamed. They all quickly turned and took to their heels as if a monster was chasing after them.

"Wait!" Gaara cried out pleadingly. No… please don't run away… I… I don't want to be alone… As if in compliance to his will the sand swiftly formed hands for itself and reached out for the children. Gaara felt fear grip him tightly, the fear of being alone; always alone… the sand grabbed a hold of the children and began to drag them back as they screamed and cried for someone to help them as they tried desperately to grip the sand beneath them. As the fear wrapped itself around Gaara a sinister feeling arose within him and found an outlet through his fear. The sand began to form again while it kept its grip on the children. The children screamed out in fear as the sand rose high above them and moved down swiftly as if to strike them. As swiftly as the wind a figure leapt out in front of the main attack blocking the children behind him from the attack. Snapping back to reality Gaara looked up to see Baki lowering his guard to look down at him.

"Gaara, stop this at once!" the ball slipped out of Gaara's hands as he sniffed silently as he tried to hold back tears that threatened to flow forth.

All along the way home Baki didn't say a single word to Gaara. Gaara didn't say a single word either, even once they were back home and Baki told him to stay in the living room while he continued his paperwork. He simply sat on the floor clutching his bear trying not to notice how Baki kept glancing up every couple of seconds as if making sure he hadn't gone anywhere.

Seven o'clock finally rolled around and Yashamaru finally returned home takeout in hand.

"I'm back." He called out when he hadn't been tackled by Gaara. Baki came to greet him back and inform him of what had happened while he was gone.

"I accept blame for most of this; I should have been keeping a better eye on him."

"It's not all your fault, he's insistent on making friends." Baki snorted.

"It might be best if he gives up on any such ideas; I doubt anyone would stick around long enough-"

"Shhh!" Yashamaru said cutting him off. But Gaara had already slipped up into his room deciding he had already heard enough.

He sat on the edge of his bed his face buried into his bear as he sobbed silently. Why can't I have any friends… why? I… I've never done anything… why is everyone always so afraid of me? With no one to ask or answer his questions he simply sobbed and cried harder.

"Gaara Sama?" Gaara turned around to look at the door. Yashamaru was leaning in slightly as if waiting for permission to come in; in his had he was carrying a plate with a few slices of pizza. "May I come in?" Gaara nodded as he quickly wiped what was left of his tears on his teddies ear before turning around on his bed as Yashamaru sat down next to him.

"Here… I thought you might be hungry." He nodded and took the plate with a sniff. There were a few moments of silence before Yashamaru attempted to try to cheer him up.

"I saw your brother and sister today." Yashamaru said with a hopeful smile. "They're training hard just like you." When he got no response he tried something else. "Kazekage said that if you're on your best behavior you'll get to see them."

"Really?" Gaara asked looking up at Yashamaru excitedly. Yashamaru smiled and nodded.

"Of course." In truth his father had said no such thing, but then again he simply assumed that he was never going to hold true to his word anyway. Gaara finished off his first slice of pizza and was about to start on the second when he looked up at Yashamaru.

"Tell me again about my brother and sister, please?" Yashamaru nodded and told him about his brother Kankuro and his sister Temari. Gaara never tired of hearing about his siblings. He had never had the chance to meet them before and only knew of them from Yashamaru's stories and a picture that sat next to his mothers of them and his father. The thing he wondered the most about his siblings was how Kankuro always tried to pick on Temari but always wound out getting knocked out. Their fighting always confused him; why do they fight so much? He had asked Yashamaru one time but his guardian had no answer to give him. Once Yashamaru was done Gaara then asked what he had to do for the Kazekage. Originally he had gone simply to inspect all of the storages of the hospitals and clinics along with the Kazekage. However when he was inspecting one of the clinics thee of the sands Chounin had come in in critical condition and required his help.

"So you saved them then?" Gaara asked as he placed his empty plate on the bedside table.

"Well I helped save them yes; they will be in a lot of pain for awhile from their injuries but I'll be sure they get more than enough ointment for their cuts and bruises." He said with a smile not wanting to go into too much gory detail. Gaara looked down at his hands for a moment then looked back up at Yashamaru.

"Yashamaru?"

"Yes Gaara Sama?"

"Can I have some ointment please?"

Authors note: Ok so pretty basic beginning, but I'm going somewhere with it I promise so stick with me R&R's are greatly appreciated, and constructive criticism is welcome but flames will be used to make smores k? till then hope to see you in ch2 .