Chapter #1 Monster

Disclaimer: Naruto and any characters or scenes u recognize from the series all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Keira and all characters/ scenes that are different are mine unless I say they aren't.
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Setting: Mountain cliff

"NO I WON'T LET YOU HARM HER!" a new mother shouted at her attacker from the edge of a steep cliff.

"But auntie," A young man started. "That little chunk of chaos will doom us all and all that we have blessed if she doesn't die today." He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Why do you still resist my father's orders?"

"Because my brother sees my daughter as a threat to his ruling status does not mean that he controls her, or anyone else's, fate" Shiamenoi shot her filthy brothers son a glare that made him utter an almost inaudible squeak and take a step back. She then smirked slightly at the demonstration of her nephew's self preservation instincts, and then looked down at the sleeping newborn in her arms.

The tiny baby fluttered her shocking green eyes open to the silhouette of her mother. She couldn't make out any features but whoever it was wasn't harming her so she simply gurgled a little and reached a tiny hand up to latch on to a lock of the persons hair.

Shiamenoi smiled sadly at the display. She'd known right from when she and her mate had conceived this child that she would have to hide it somewhere until she herself came to power. But there was no way that she would kill it. No way in hell. She would hide it in a human household deep in the desert below until the time when it would be safe to bring her back.

Her nephew lunged at her savagely, an acidic aura dripping from his fingers. Shiamenoi simply held her baby close and dropped backwards off the edge.

Bright scarlet feather burst into a small cyclone as she spread her enormous rose color wings and pulled out of her free fall. She heard her brother's twisted child cursing fluently below her. She knew it was because he had provoked her into the air where he was at a disadvantage.

This was so because it was the nature of their people to be more of a threat in the air, and coupled with the newly found maternal instincts he knew he'd be killed if he made any attempt to follow. But he also knew she couldn't stay up there for long and his aunt couldn't seek the safety of cloud cover as was normal to do in this situation as her baby hadn't yet gotten used to the lack of air or temperature and would either suffocate or freeze.

They both knew the plan to weasel out of the other's plan, but only Shiamenoi was in a position to do anything about it. So simply put she bent the air with the force of her retreat.

Dodging fireballs, literally (damn that man and his pyromaniac son) she twisted through the trees on the side of the mountain across the valley from her previous position and disappeared over the top.

- Five years later -

The wind blew little torrents of sand and a few scarce leaves across the dusty floor of a playground occupied by five children, four of which were kicking each other's already battered shins attempting to acquire the ball.

"Pass it!" Yelled one especially rambunctious young boy running and shouting with glee to his comrade.

On the swing set in the corner another little boy, a few years younger than the rest, watched them with longing but knew he would never be allowed to join. He clutched his worn teddy bear by the arm, hating the fact that it wasn't because he was younger than the rest of them that he couldn't possibly ask to play. Then...

"OH CRAP!"

The children looked up with frustration. Their ball had gotten stuck, way up on the top of a, fifty or so foot, wall.

Looking at the ground. "What do we do?" asked one. "We haven't mastered climbing walls by use of chakra yet..." observed the only girl in the group. But a small rustling sound brought their attention back up to the ball, which coincidently was now floating high above their heads. They all watched in amazement as their plaything drifted slowly through the air and down into the outstretched arms of the younger boy, bear momentarily forgotten under his seat on the swing set.

All four took various stances of shock and terror and the girl made another quivering observation.

"Y- you, you're... "She was too scared to finish her shocked statement and could feel the impulse to scream rising in her throat.

The thud of shoes making hasty foot prints. Voices screaming and one high pitched one in particular. The sound of the ball bouncing away from where it dropped from his shocked hands all rang sharply through Gaara's already throbbing head.

'Away... alone ... screaming... no! I won't be alone again! NO! I won't let you leave me alone again! '

"GAARA STOP IT!"

Gaara's train of incomplete thoughts was suddenly derailed with a crash as Yashamaru's voice suddenly yanked his consciousness back to earth. His beloved uncle was standing protectively over the girl, who had his sand all over her with her arm bleeding from the shallow erosion of the sand on her skin.

The sight scared him, though if asked why he probably wouldn't be able to give an honest answer. Even the fact that he couldn't find an answer scared him and he hated it. He couldn't ever answer his own lonesome inner puzzlings most likely because he wasn't really sure why he would care if he hurt someone. All they did was tell him to just hurry up and die already. All they had ever done was wish he had never existed, whether they voiced it or simply ran screaming their wishes to him anyway even though in their fear they could rarely form coherent words.

He hated it, them, everything, he couldn't always tell anymore. They hated him for something they themselves had created, and forced him to endure. It wasn't fair! Why did they have to treat him like this for something that he wasn't even given a choice about?

His face began to twist into a frustrated scowl once more.

"Gaara, I will take this girl home and then we can talk back at our own." Here he gave his nephew a small smile. "Alright?"

Gaara looked up finally and gave a small, stiff nod. But the moment Yashamaru was out of ear shot even that tiny smile dropped.

"Home."

'Home' He repeated the word inside his head. It felt foreign and plastic like something that was simply there to give a name to that structure that he shared with those hunks of living flesh that the only word he had to describe was...

'Family'

Another foreign word echoed through his head. It was one of many words that he was only vaguely aware had any meaning at all. He knew he should know what they meant but... just for whatever reason couldn't bring himself to understand.
Along with home and family other words under the little list in his head sadly titled his 'fake words' list, were Pain, Love, Trust, Happiness, Peace and Rest. And they would stay there until he got an answer.
Tears had been on that list for a while, long ago, Pain as well. But he knew what they were now and had been moved to his mental list titled 'Things I wish I didn't know.'

Gaara was once again jerked out his, quickly turning into a demonic kaleidoscope, whirl of thoughts when his already cluttered brain had sorted through everything he was feeling and registered the feeling of a finger briefly tapping his shoulder...

Gaara's face whipped around, a scowl set onto his eyes, ready for anybody to just make his day and try something.

But his brain simply froze at the sight.

A little girl, only just slightly shorter than himself, stood before him, arms outstretched, offering him the forgotten renegade ball. She looked him straight in the face and didn't even blink. 'Innocent...'

Another one of his fake words jumped unbidden to the forefront of his mind. Also a foreign feeling of his sand being completely unmoving around him. It was strange but he felt himself start to subliminally let down his defenses just staring at her face, completely unbiased, utterly unafraid.

That look wasn't just foreign... It was completely alien to him. Nobody had ever looked at him like that. It also scared him a little but it wasn't the same as that other kind of fear. He knew somewhere in his head he wasn't afraid out of any danger to his life or anything. It was just bizarre.

It was the soft weight in his hands that turned his eyes down to the ball which had now been simply dropped in his upturned palms. He didn't even recall nodding and holding out his hands. He didn't even know how he somehow knew he had done these things in the first place. This was all very strange.

The girl was now staring pointedly at the ball, her eyes slightly out of focus, sucking on her pinky finger and her teeth chewing on her bottom lip. It was beyond him how she was doing both these things at once without biting her finger at some point. She was obviously torn about something. He was just about to ask what the hell she was staring at when she spoke and through that option of attack right out the proverbial window.

"Can... I play with you?"

Gaara simply stared at her, shocked into silence before he'd even started talking. He'd never in his life been asked to socialize with anyone let alone 'play'. He also noted that her voice was a little scratchy... as if she didn't use it all that much. He didn't know how to respond so he simply stared some more, only vaguely aware that he had a look of someone shocked into a dumb stare... but of coarse he was after all so he supposed there wasn't much that could be done about it.

When he continued to stare the girl turned her gaze to the ground, a small blush on her face, sure she had offended him somehow and still sucking on her finger. She turned to leave.

"Sor..." she started. Gaara was suddenly so terrified of this one girl leaving him alone as well that he decided to leap into some unfamiliar territory.

"Do you ...really want to?"

Her face whipped around just as his had done when she'd first spoken. For the first time he saw something familiar in her eyes. Yes, that feeling of shock that she'd actually ask him to play with her, was now mirrored in her eyes, but now it was... shock that he'd actually agree?

Also for the first time he spied a small white scar on the side of her stomach just above her hip bone, momentarily visible when she'd turned, lifting her overly long shirt for just a second. He wondered vaguely where she'd gotten it. Some feeling was bubbling below the surface at the sight, but he couldn't place what... no wait ... it was, anger? Over what? He tried to place it for a second but couldn't so he gave up and pushed it away.

She nodded.

"What do you want to play?" He asked, not knowing any games himself.

The girl had that torn look again... well not really torn this time, more like contemplating.