So, this is my second fanfic. I hope you like it! When working on this story, I found out that the italics and bold writing messes up everything during the edit. Oh, joy.
I do not own the Sand Sibs. How sad... But, neither do you. Unless you are Naruto's mangaka. But he is a busy man. An awesome man.
I only own my deserted island. Then again, I don't own it.

…...

"Shukaku's thoughts"

No matter how uneasy he felt, Gaara would never show it. Everybody on the boat kept a safe distance from him, fearing that he would kill them mercilessly. The jinchuriki sat alone in a corner of the deck.

It was a two day journey from Suna to the sea shore and seven hours since the boat left the pier. Seven hours since a terrible feeling had invaded Gaara. He was on a boat. In the middle of the ocean. And he hated water. That was understandable, since his main attacks -and defenses- involved sand and all. He knew that no one on this boat would dare lay a finger on him. They were all from his village, so they understood that the quickest way of dying was to mess with him. But still, knowing that he was vulnerable... It was the worst of feelings. He hated it.

The only reason that he was here in the first place was because of the Kazekage. The man that Gaara was disgusted to admit was his father. The Kazekage had assigned him, Temari and Kankuro to a mission. A B ranked mission to transport important documents and stuff to the Land of Water. Water this, water that. Gaara felt slightly sick thinking about it.
But, he couldn't refuse the mission. It was only B ranked. And both his teammates -he refused to think of them as his siblings- had accepted it, so there was no way he was going to be the one backing out, showing weakness.

Gaara mentally groaned. The boat had swayed violently to the left, making him hold on to the handrail with extreme force. Having Shukaku locked up inside of him stopped him from getting a cold, the flu, food poisoning and other things like that. But, apparently, sea sickness wasn't included in his list of immunities. Even without the whole boat swaying thing, the dark, cold ocean looked extremely unappealing to the young ninja. Yes, almighty Gaara of the Desert was actually sea sick. Not that he would let it show.

"Gaara? Do you want to eat anything?" Gaara nearly jumped out of his skin. But he didn't, because he was Gaara. Shukaku must have really felt terrible as well, because he hadn't warned the ninja about Kankuro standing right behind him.
The older boy fixed the spot to the left of his brother's foot nervously. Gaara looked at him, suspicious. Why would he care? Maybe Temari and Kankuro were taking turns to check on him, to make sure that he wasn't killing anyone. Not that they could have stopped him if he was. Gaara settled for a calm, cold:
"No. Get lost."
Kankuro shrugged and walked away. When he thought that the jinchuriki wasn't looking any more, he quickened his pace to a run. But, Gaara did notice. He felt his chest tighten painfully and he felt his anger boiling. He wanted to hurt Kankuro, badly. But he was stuck holding onto the handrail, because the swaying was getting worst by the minute. Could this situation get any worse? That was when an announcement was made over a loud speaker.

"We apologize for any inconvenience. But, we have unfortunately entered an area of high water current. Waves are particularly high around this spot. Thank you for your cooperation. Please enjoy the rest of the week long trip to the Land of Water."

"Oh, great. You had to ask?" Came Shukaku's mental voice.

"And we will unfortunately be caught up in a storm later this evening. So if all passengers may move into their cabins before it starts raining, safety on board will be maintained."

"Urg. Joy. Lucky us. You'd better get a move on, kid, before it rains. I hate water."

Gaara completely agreed with the demon. Except the sarcastic parts. He didn't do sarcasm.

The sky was now pitch black. Gaara had been sitting in the cabin that he shared with his teammates for around two hours, glaring murderously at the rain. Temari and Kankuro hadn't come into the room yet. They were probably still eating dinner, somewhere. Or they might have been delaying the moment when they had to stay in a confined area alone with him. He really didn't care.
The ninja sighed and leaned his head against the wall. He really felt terrible. He then stood up straighter. No way he was going to show weakness! Even if no one was here. Well, no one but Shukaku, who was now whining like a bitch.

"Urg. I wanna throw up. I feel sick. Can demons throw up? Is that even possible? I feel sick. I'm starting to get hungry. Feed me Gaara! Feed me! I feel sick..."

The jinchuriki tuned him out. He was only annoying him. And that was really not helping the situation. Gaara stared at the wall until he heard footstep in the corridor, coming towards his cabin. He casually walked up to his bed, sat on it and glared out the window again. Who ever saw him now could have thought he had been in that position for two hours. Which was sort of true.

Temari and Kankuro entered the room. They slowed down when they saw their brother. Temari walked over to where Gaara was sitting, who still pretending to ignore them. She placed a something on his bedside table. He resisted the urge to turn around to see what it was.
"Gaara? Are you OK?" asked the kunoichi. Gaara thought he heard something that sounded like genuine concern in her voice. He must have really been feeling sick. He turned around and glared as terrifyingly as he could.
He heard both of his siblings gulp a little, but no gasping in fear. Gaara almost sighed out loud. It sucked being sea sick.
"I'm fine." As he said this, his eyes fell on the object on his beside table. A tray filled with food. Kankuro noticed his scrutinizing.
"Yeah, it's for you. You haven't eaten in nearly ten hours." Gaara kept staring at the tray, without saying anything. After a moment, the silence became awkward.
"Um... We'll let you eat in peace. We have to help the captain with directions. Something happened to the ship's compass. And it's system. Terrible, especially since we will be stuck in a huge storm in about half an hour, or maybe less, judging by the sky." That was the longest speech Gaara had ever herd Temari say in front of him. He didn't detach his eyes from the food until he herd the door close behind his siblings, then he was alone again.

"Hey! What about me? Do I count?"

Gaara mentally snorted. So, not only was he alone, but he was stuck with Shukaku. Not that he cared.

"Oh, sure you don't. I am disappointed in you Gaara... How can you think that your sister might actually care for you? She hates you! They all do! I'm starving! Feed me! I'm the only one here for you! No one else! Just you and..."

Gaara quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started eating. He was glad that is shut the annoying demon up. He knew that Shukaku was being a pain to take advantage of the fact that Gaara wasn't in the mood to resist. The ninja knew that stuffing yourself when you felt sick was a very bad idea, but if it made the demon keep quiet... He'd eat more.

When he had finished the rice balls and soup, he felt better. Mentally of course. Because physically, it didn't change much. Maybe he felt worse. At least he didn't have to listen to his teammates constant bickering. Not that they argued much in his presence anyway.

At that moment, the boat hit a particularly large wave. Gaara heard screams in the distance. Everything in the room floated off the floor for half a second before slamming back onto the ground with a thunk. Including the ninja, who landed on a pillow of sand.
Now, Gaara felt pissed. So he was not only stuck in the middle of the sea, but in the middle of a storm. With huge waves. And nobody cared. Yes, Gaara was feeling very mad.

"Let it out. You know how to do it. Feed me blood! I want some! You know you do too! Make these worthless people pay..."

Yes... Make them pay...
It was almost childish, blaming others for his problems. But he was Sabaku no Gaara. That is what he did. Because he had many, many problems, and had his own unique way of sharing them.

In a few seconds, the jinchuriki's mind was invaded by Shukaku's blood lust. He wanted to kill. The fact that the boat was now rocking extremely violently didn't even register anymore.

He left the wrecked room behind. When he stepped out into the corridor, he heard someone gasp in fear. Victim found. He slowly turned his head around. What he saw surprised him more than a little, even in his state.
The little girl, about seven years old, hadn't been afraid of him. She was cowering away from a large, imposing man, dressed completely in black and had a mask on his face.
Who was he? Another assassin sent from his father? Why was he attacking a kid? Gaara didn't ask any of these questions out loud, and just crushed the man with his sand before he could react. The blood... it made Shukaku happy. He wanted more.
The little girl was staring blankly at the bloody mess, which was all that was left of her attacker. Maybe... No. Not her. Not satisfying enough. Then a voice calling his name snapped him out of the blood lust.

"GAARA! There you are! What are... HOLY SHIT!" Kankuro froze when he saw the dead man. What was left of him anyway. He unconsciously started backing away. He looked at his brother, with eyes wide in fear. Then he saw the girl.
"Huh? Who's she?" Of course, Gaara didn't answer. He just started walking away. The kid stopped staring at the dead guy and looked from Gaara to Kankuro.
"I'm... I'm... He... saved me. This man... tried to... to kill me." she gestured shakily to the blood. Kankuro was extremely confused. Gaara saved a kid? What was this about?
"Why was this man trying to kill you? Who is he?"
"I... I don't know who he is. He wanted to kill me because... because..." Her small voice trailed off. Gaara started to get frustrated. This kid was weak. But he wanted to know.

"Why?" asked the jinchuriki.
"I... I saw him do it. I saw him break it before the boat left the... the shore."
"What?"
"The boat's thing. It looked important. I saw him. He saw me. I thought he would try running... But then... He was going to get rid of me..."
Kankuro stared horrified.
"WHAT? Some guy sabotaged the boat's system? Why the hell would anybody do that?"

Before he could think up a possible answer, the boat tipped forward. Everyone slid down the floor and hit the wall at the bottom of the corridor.
Screaming echoed through the boat. And water spilled through the open windows, flooding the entire boat up to knee length in one go.
Gaara screamed in anger, and fear. He was soaking wet. His sand armor fell off of his body in chunks and his gourd melted in the water. He was now defenseless and weak. He tried to go through the doorway, so that he could get out of the cabins' floor before it was completely flooded.
But, when he tried to get up, his realized that his foot was stuck. And that it hurt. A lot.

"So this is what pain feels like, thought Gaara, I hate it."

He tried standing up again. He couldn't. He was helpless.
A hand grabbed his and yanked him through the door. Gaara was extremely shocked and confused. Who would saved him?... Kankuro.
"COME ON! Temari is still on the deck! We have to find her!" The older boy helped his brother limp up the stairs, not giving a second thought to all the people still trapped on the floor below. He had to save his sister. He had to.

The second they emerged from the doorway, a fresh wave of water splashed onto them, nearly knocking both of the boys down the stairs. Kankuro pushed chakra into his legs and held on tight to Gaara. If everything wasn't so hysterical and panicked, he would have been surprised. Gaara had accepted his help. But then another wave washed over the deck of the boat.
Making sure that he had a good hold of the ground, Kankuro began the trudge through the water, the rain and the wind, whilst carrying his little brother.
"Kankuro... Put me down. I can walk." Gaara sent a chakra through his feet, ignoring his still hurting foot. He didn't understand anything. Kankuro saved him. He helped him. Why? And why was he helping his sister? Gaara didn't have time to think.

"TEMARI! She's there! Oh... No..." The red head snapped his head around and spotted his sister.

He didn't know how he should have felt when he saw her. Her body was covered in blood, which was leaking from the top of her head, her right shoulder and right leg. He saw why. When the wave had tipped the boat, Temari had crashed through the glass window of the captain's controller room. She was now hanging onto the handrail, fighting to stay conscious.

Gaara froze and stared at her through the rain. He didn't know what he should do. Should he help? No, he only fought for himself. He loved only himself. But... Should he just let her die?
Again, he didn't have a chance to decide. Kankuro ran over to Temari and gently picked her up. When he had a good hold on her, he moved away from the side of boat.
Gaara just stood there, looking at his brother save his sister, without having to ask for help. Not from him, or anyone. Of course, Gaara didn't feel proud of him or anything. He felt angry. What was Kankuro trying to prove? That Gaara was unneeded? Unnecessary?

That was when a huge wave completely tipped over the frail little boat.

Gaara felt himself panic when he fell into the cold, stormy water. The ability to swim was a basic need for a ninja, but for understandable reasons, Gaara never had much practice. He gasped for air, and swallowed a mouthful a water. Urg... When was Shukaku when you needed him? Not around.
Maybe... He would die. And all his pain would be over. He would never have to deal with those memories, those looks, ever again.

When he tried to sink deeper into the water, he felt something hold him up. He shook about, but didn't come in contact with anything. He just floated. For what seemed like an eternity.
Then he felt himself getting pulled through the waves. He was then lifted onto something hard and wooden. He dropped his head on to his side and the only thing he could see was Temari's face, lying next to his. She was now unconscious.
How had he gotten onto this floating...? door, he noticed. He heard a person pant in exhaustion beside him. Kankuro had saved both of his siblings by pulling them to safety using his chakra strings. All that, whilst fighting for his own life in a stormy sea.

Why did Kankuro even bother? He had no idea. Was he really that important to his brother? No... How could anyone care about a monster? How should a monster react when he was being cared for? All these questions hunted Gaara's mind. Because of his insomnia, Gaara was unable to find rest in unconsciousness. He was almost jealous of Temari.
Gaara just lied there, thinking, cold and painfully awake.

…..

He had blanked out about four hours later from exhaustion and boredom.

When his mind was clear enough to register his surroundings, Gaara became aware of the fact that he could no longer feel the swaying of the ocean. Instead, he felt somethings soft, cold and slightly wet. Sand.
He was still lying on the door that came from the boat. It must have washed onto the shore of an island.
Gaara slowly sat up. His eyes adjusted very quickly to the dim moonlight. Temari was still unconscious, and still there. And Kankuro was fast asleep with half his body still in the water. The jinchuriki was surprised that he felt... glad.
He was safe. And so were his sib-... teammates.
When he looked around, all he could see was sand and a lot of trees.

He stood up shakily and moved away from the ocean. Nice, dry sand. He felt much, much better knowing this.
And what about...? Well, since they weren't going to see him do it, why leave them there? If they wake up now, I can always kill them. That thought made up his mind. Gaara made a pile of sand lift the door up, along with Kankuro and Temari, and placed it on a dry spot.
Since his brother had saved his life... Maybe... I should care... thought Gaara.
A feeling of disgust invaded him. Against himself. How did he end up owing his life to that pathetic puppet-nin?

"Because you were weak. And he was strong enough to save you and Temari. I'm telling you, this guy is serious trouble. But he did rescue our butts."

So, now Shukaku decided to bother him again. Gaara mentally sighed. This was going to be a long night. At least it wasn't raining anymore.

…...

First chapter! I hope you liked it. I tried to make Gaara stay in character. The only way that he would let Kankuro help him is probably if water was involved... I'm sure you guys can guess what happened to the boat.
I dunno why, but the 'escape the boat scene' was sort of inspired by Titanic... Except there is no Jack and Rose, just the awesome Sand Sibs. Now, what will Kankuro and Temari do, now that they are stuck with a confused Gaara?
Hope you like it! R&R ~~~ XOXO HimekoUchia