Prologue…

"Congratulations! You've got twins!" said one of the med ninja.

"The girl…Haruto. The boy…Naruto," said the woman weakly before she left this world.

"Remember your mission! The Kazekage wants one of the twins with the sealed beast!" said the commander of the Sand ninja sent to the village. Their mission: to kidnap one of the twins with the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within them. As the fox slowly died from the seal, a Sand Ninja stole away with the girl…Haruto. Little did they know that her twin brother, Naruto, was the one cursed with the Sealed Beast.

"Good work. Now, which one of you will train and raise the child?" asked the Kazekage.

"I will…my wife lost our child," said one of the ninjas.

"Very well…raise the girl as your own. Remember, the fate of the village may very well rest on your shoulders," said the Kazekage.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage…"

"Why? Why do they all fear me?!" cried a certain red-haired boy. He unknowingly sent his deadly sand after a few of the fleeing children. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a girl grinning.

"Want to play?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I said, do you want to play?"

The sand that was chasing after the children slowly stopped, then receded. The boy nodded, happy that at least one person wanted to play with him.

"By the way…what's your name?" she asked.

"My name is Gaara. What's yours?"

"Mine is Haruto. Haruto Kazehana."

The two played with a ball for the rest of the day. As the sun slowly sank beneath the dunes, the two quickly became friends. Gaara went home, happier than he'd been in a long time.

"So how was today Gaara?" asked his uncle.

"I made a friend!" he replied happily.

"Oh? What's their name?"

"Her name's Haruto Kazehana," answered Gaara.

"Haruto, eh?"

The next day, Haruto met up with Gaara and played with him again. The other children watched in horror as the two got along. During lunch, Haruto went to get something for them to eat and was approached by one of the other children.

"How can you be near that kid?! He's a freak!" he asked.

"What do you mean? He's pretty normal to me!" asked Haruto.

"My dad said that kid has an evil demon inside him. And I believe it!"

"Gaara has a demon inside him?"

"Yeah. Dad said it was the Shukaku monster!"

"Shukaku?! You mean that thing that was sealed in a teapot?!"

"That's the one."

Haruto stood there stunned before she burst out laughing. She walked away grinning and Gaara asked, "What's so funny?"

"One of the others said that you had the Shukaku demon inside you," said Haruto. She would have kept grinning if she hadn't noticed a sudden change in Gaara's attitude.

"What's wrong Gaara?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't find out about the demon in me…" he said quietly.

"Wait a minute. Is that the reason why everyone avoids you like the plague?"

"Uh-huh."

"Gaara…" said Haruto surprised.

"I guess this means you don't wanna be my friend anymore," said Gaara sadly.

"What makes you think that?"

"I have an evil demon inside of me!"

"You're kidding right?" she said amused.

"Everyone hates me because of this demon in me," said Gaara, clearly upset.

"Gaara, if I were afraid of you, then I'd be afraid of anyone with a Kekkei Genkai."

Gaara looked at her in surprise. His eyes held hope, which caused her to go on.

"Just because you have a unique ability doesn't mean I should immediately be terrified of you. Adults are the ones who can't handle something outside their knowledge," said Haruto with a smile.

"You mean…?"

"Yup, I'm still your friend. The only reason the others are scared of you is because their parents make them afraid of the unknown. My mom and dad don't care about that stuff, so I don't either," explained Haruto.

Gaara was relieved; she was the first and only person who didn't care whether he had a demon or not. Little did he know that his uncle was watching the whole time in shock at her reaction. He immediately went to the Kazekage and told him what he witnessed.

"So the demon has made a friend…what was the girl's name?"

"He told me it was Haruto Kazehana."

"Kazehana? So that's why she was unaffected by the demon. She is the girl we took from the Leaf village that possessed a sealed beast!"

"That's the girl?!"

"That's the one. Kazehana was the one who volunteered to raise her," said the Kazekage.

"What should I do?"

"Leave this be for now."

"Hey, Haruto, how'd you like to come over to my house sometime?" asked Gaara.

"I'd love to! I just hope my parents will agree…"

"Haruto, how was your day?" asked her mother.

"It was okay."

"Did something happen?"

"I found out my new friend has a demon sealed inside him," said Haruto nonchalantly.

"He WHAT?!"

"He has the Shukaku demon in him," repeated Haruto.

"His name wouldn't happen to be Gaara, would it?" asked her father.

"That's him!"

"Haruto, I don't think it's a good idea to be hanging around that boy," said her mother.

"Why?! Because of the demon?"

"That's exactly why we don't want you to be around him."

Now Haruto, who normally followed her parent's orders without much fuss, had a very difficult choice to make. She could either keep her word to Gaara and remain his friend, even though her parents said not to, or she could remain their cooperative daughter. Either choice would change her life dramatically. Finally, she made up her mind as she said, "I don't care you or anyone says! Gaara is my friend!"

"Haruto! We're doing this for your own good!" said her mother.

"You're wrong, mother! Gaara isn't someone that should be feared! He's just like me and everyone else!"

"Haruto, be reasonable! That boy is dangerous," said her father sternly.

"He is not dangerous. You don't even know what he's like! You don't want to get to know him at all!" said Haruto, upset. Before either of her parents could respond, she went to her room and locked the door. They sat there in shock. She had never gone against their decision before, and it was disturbing.

"Where did we go wrong?"

"It's not our fault dear, she's just too young to understand," said the father.

"Yes I know, but still…"

"We'll try to get through to her in the morning when she had some time to think about her actions. You'll see…"

Haruto listened to her parent's conversation, trying not to cry. Why wouldn't they understand?! Why do adults fear that which is unknown? She knew what she had to do; she would have to follow her own path, with or without their support. And that thought terrified her.
"Haruto, have you thought about what we talked about last night?" asked her father calmly.

"Yes."

"And?"

"I'm still going to be his friend. I'm the only one who's ever tried to get to know him," said Haruto firmly.

"Haruto, he's dangerous! We're only trying to protect you," said her mother.

"Mom, he isn't a monster. He's just a lonely kid that everyone fears because he's different from everyone else."

"You do know that he's hurt several of the other children don't you? We're just trying to keep you from being hurt," said her father.

"He didn't mean to! He was just lonely is all," defended Haruto upset.

"I take it there's no way we can change your mind?" asked her father in defeat. She shook her head; he sighed as he said, "Very well. You can continue being his friend. On one condition! If he ever hurts you intentionally, then you must never talk to him again!"

"But!"

"No buts!"

"Well then can I at least spend the night at his house?"

"I don't see why not," said her mother.

"Yay!"

"Hey Haru! What happened?" asked Gaara when he saw her expression.

"I told my parents about the Shukaku, and they didn't want me to be friends with you anymore. But I convinced them, so they said it was okay. They also said I could spend the night at your house!"

This got a mixed reaction from Gaara. While he was thrilled she could come over, he was upset that she got into trouble with her parents.

"Don't worry about it silly! Come on! Let's go play some more!" she said cheerfully. His mood brightened up as they played for the entire day. He showed her his house before she met his uncle. He was surprised to finally meet her; she spent the night with Gaara, and couldn't wait to see what the next day would bring.

That night, she had a strange and disturbing dream. She came face to face with a demonic raccoon; he looked at her amused. Then he spoke, his voice filled her with fear.

So you are the girl who fears nothing…

Who are you?

My name is Shukaku.

You're the demon everyone is so terrified of?! You don't seem that scary to me.

Why do you not fear the very sight of me?

Why should I? Only a closed-minded person would fear the unknown.

You are one strange girl…

Thanks for the compliment.

Her comment caused Shukaku to chuckle. She took this to be a good sign; it was a strong chance that she had gotten on his good side. This was no easy feat. It was around this time she woke up. Gaara was already awake and waiting for her at the table. After they ate breakfast, they headed to class together.

It was over a week later that something unthinkable happened. Gaara was moon-gazing when he was attacked without warning. His Sand rose up and defended him; it then went on the offensive and attacked the assailant. It quickly and efficiently killed the man. When Gaara went to find the man's identity, his heart was split in two. It was his uncle who had tried to kill him!

He soon learned the truth about his dark birth. His mother never loved him; she despised him and the village that killed her. He avoided the explosive tags his uncle had, and his sand created the kanji for 'love' on his forehead out of his pain. The next morning, Haruto saw the kanji and gasped in shock.

"Gaara! What happened?!"

"My uncle tried to kill me. He told me the truth about my mother…"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but he's gone now…"

"I can't believe he'd tried to kill you though," said Haruto in disbelief.

"My father sent him. Apparently the elders think I'm too unstable to live," said Gaara, his anger rising.

"Well one thing's for sure…"

"What?"

"I'd never try to come after you even if the Kazekage ordered me to."

"You mean it?" asked Gaara.

"We're friends Gaara, and nothing will ever change that," said Haruto firmly.

"Thank you, Haruto. You're the only one I can trust anymore," said Gaara relieved.

"Let's make a promise then. No matter what happens, we'll always remain friends," said Haruto. He nodded, and they swore to never let anything tear them apart.