This is only my second story, so go easy. And I don't own any of the characters *sigh* but I do own Ginhoshi, her brother. Any characters OC, not my fault. I tried to look deeper into Gaara's character and pull out the side of him that desperatly wanted to be loved and accepted. Here's his chance. Wait till' you see the sequel...

My First and Only Friend

"Hi there! Why are you sitting all by yourself?"

He looked up. "Huh?" Bending over him was a girl, no more than seven years old, like he was. She had sparkling violet eyes and silver blue blonde wavy hair that went only a little bit past her shoulders. She was smiling at him. Smiling? Why would anyone ever be smiling at him? He thought.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Her bright eyes widened, filling with amusement, and she giggled. "What? Why would I hurt you?"

He lowered his eyes and looked away. "They all do eventually..." He mumbled quietly. She tilted her head and looked at him kindly. "Well I won't. My name's Ginhoshi Akaruimi. What's yours?" She held out her hand.

He looked into her eyes. She looked so...open and friendly. What was wrong with this girl? Didn't she know who he was? Why wasn't she afraid of him like everyone else was? Was she trying to trick him? No, that couldn't be it. She didn't look like she would...

He was staring at her hand like he'd never seen one before in his entire life. Hesitantly, he lifted his trembling hand to hers. Slowly he took her hand and Ginhoshi closed her eyes and smiled radiantly. "That's more like it!" She beamed. Ginhoshi shook his hand, then plopped down on the sand next to him. "So what's your name?"

He looked down again. "Gaara." He said quietly.

Ginhoshi beamed again. "Well hello, Gaara! Do you want to play with me?"

Gaara gasped and snapped his head up to stare, shocked at her. Did she just...ask me if...I-I wanted to play with her? Nobody had ever done that before. Nobody. Not even his own siblings.

"Really? Do you really want me to play with you?" Gaara asked, disbelievingly.

Ginhoshi's eyebrows furrowed and she gazed at him with a confused expression. "Of course I mean it. I was going to head over to the top of the outter wall and and look out over all of Suna, before I leave tomorrow. Wanna come with me?"

She looked down then jumped up and ran a few steps off. She stopped on the fourth stride and turned her body halfway around to look at Gaara, smiling.

"You coming, Gaara?" She yelled back. His eyes widened, but he stood up and caught up with Ginhoshi. She beamed happily and grabbed his hand and pulled him along as she ran off through the village.

As Ginhoshi dragged Gaara off through the village, the sand people looked at Gaara with terrified and indifferent expressions and Ginhoshi with shocked looks. While Gaara kept his head down, Ginhoshi kept her head high, smiling and laughing, completely oblivious to any of the looks the two got.

As the two made their way through the streets, a couple of boys, around ten, snickered and pointed at the pair, whispering to one another, " Look! It's the little monster! And he finally found a pretty little girl stupid enough to be his! To bad he'll kill her! Hahaha!"

All of a sudden, they stopped. Ginhoshi let go of Gaara's hand and whipped around. She popped her neck and stomped over to where the two boys stood. "Excuse me, but what did you say about my friend?"

The boys stopped snickering and gapped at her. Gaara's eyes widened and he gasped as he watched Ginhoshi beat the crap out of the two boys.

Ginhoshi wiped her hands off and grabbed Gaara's hand once more and pulled him along again.

...

"So...why did those boys call you a monster?" Ginhoshi asked quietly. She was now sitting on top of the wall with Gaara sitting right beside her. Gaara gazed out over the miles and miles of sand. Ginhoshi fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. "You don't have to-" Gaara shook his head. "No. You should know the truth." Ginhoshi looked at him intently.

"I am different from everyone else, because i'm...a jinchuriki..." Gaara whispered. He looked up, expecting to see Ginhoshi drawing away from him in fear and indifference, but to his suprise, she didn't.

Instead, she stared at him like she was waiting for something more.

"Is that it?" Ginhoshi asked. Gaara gaped at her. He couldn't believe this. She wasn't afraid. Ginhoshi wasn't afraid of him. "Isn't that enough?" He stuttered.

Ginhoshi threw her head back and laughed. "Enough? For a minute there, I thought you were going to tell me something scary!" Gaara stared at her in awe. I don't believe this... She isn't afraid of me being a jinchuriki.

She stopped laughing and smiled brightly at Gaara.

"Aren't you...afraid?" He asked hesitantly. Ginhoshi tilted her head to the side, now quite confused. "Huh? Why would I be afraid, Gaara?"

Gaara looked away sadly. "Everyone who knows what I am, wish to kill me for being the way I am. Even my own father has sent assasins to finish me off. Nobody has ever been brave or kind enough to do what your doing now. Being my first and only friend..."

Ginhoshi leened towards Gaara, until her nose almost touched his. "Well, I won't do any of that. I've never had a friend before either because of my father. He's very strict and protective. Anyway, friends don't do that to each other. I promise!" Then she smiled and gave him a big hug.

She isn't going to hurt or betray me. And she called me her friend, and now she's hugging me. She really is different. Is this what it feels like to have a friend? Gaara wondered.

Ginhoshi sat back and smiled happily at a confused Gaara. She reached her hands around the back of her neck and pulled a black leather necklace over her head. At the end of it was a metal star shaped figure. In the middle of it was a pale purple jade stone, also shaped like a star.

She scooted closer to Gaara and placed the necklace over his head , then pulled back to inspect how it looked.

Ginhoshi smiled, nodding her head approvingly.

"I want you to keep this, to remember me by. A sign of our friendship. It used to be my mother's. She gave it to me before she went on every mission, as a promise that she would come back." Ginhoshi's face fell and she looked down. "But one mission, she didn't come back from. She was assigned to a C-rank mission with three others, a small mission to scout an area where some S-ranked missing ninjas had been spotted, and..." Her voice choked a little, "and, she never... came back..."

A tear fell from Ginhoshi's eye and dropped onto Gaara's hand. He looked at the tear and saw all Ginhoshi's inner sadness reflect itself from the drop.

She gazed sadly across the dunes of sand that surrounded the entire area. Ginhoshi suddenly clenched her fists tightly and her face hardened with bitter determination. "On that day, I promised myself that I would train as the most powerful ninja anyone's ever seen. I would become strong, stronger than my mother, even stronger than my own father, for Hoshigakure no sato. Then maybe someday, I could find them. The ones who took my mother away from me, that made her break her promise... And make them regret ever messing with my family."

Ginhoshi sounded so infuriated, but to the point that she was channeling all her rage and sorrow into an enormous source of strength and strong will. Any normal person would be terrified of the immense dark aura that was seeping from this girl, but to Gaara, she sounded so... dangerous... And he liked it. Never had he thought anyone could feel this way. The same way he felt everyday.

Ginhoshi noticed that she was getting herself a little too carried away, and calmed herself down a bit.

"I'm sorry. I'm forgetting myself. I didn't scare you, did I?" Gaara shook his head. "You didn't scare me. I just thought I was the only one to feel that sometimes." Ginhoshi smiled kindly, showing how well she truly understood what he went through. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it lightly. "That's what friends are for. As long as you and I are friends, nothing about our pasts can harm us. I promise."

And for the first time, in a long time, Gaara actually smiled.

"Ginhoshi!"

They both looked down into the village and saw a ninja jump over a roof-top, calling her name. "Ginhoshi!" He yelled. Ginhoshi gasped and scrambled up, pulling Gaara up with her. "That's my big brother, Hihoshi." Ginhoshi explained, before Gaara could ask.

"It's his mission to collect news on some important things from each of the villages. So far we've only come here. Our next stop is Konohagakure no sato, then so on." She waved her other hand in the air, dismissing any boring details about the subject. "Since no one was able to watch me while he was gone, this time, he took me with him."

Gaara nodded. He could easily see that Ginhoshi and her older brother, Hihoshi, were related. The resembalance was uncanny.

Like Ginhoshi, Hihoshi had pale violet eyes, but unlike her stardusted curls, he ahd spiked red hair. His facial features were similar to hers, yet more masculine and broad. All in all, he looked to be an experianced and fierce fighter.

Perfect...

Gaara shook his head, trying to clear away those bloodthirsty thoughts. I will not kill Ginhoshi's brother. She'd hate me if I did. I can't have her hate me, not now...

Ginhoshi looked over to Gaara, capturing his attention once more. "We should get going, before my big brother drops from exhaustion, looking for me." She giggled.

Gaara pulled her close to himself, then used his sand to take them both safely back to the ground.

He let her go, making sure she could hold her balance first, and stepped back. Ginhoshi swayed for a moment, rubbing her head. "Whoah... I'm never going to get used to that." She shook her head rapidly. "Much better. Well, I guess... uhm, this is good-bye..." She said akwardly.

She smiled sheepishly and rocked on her feet, looking down.

"Okay then. I've got to go. I hope I'll see you again, Gaara." She said,then turned to leave.

"Wait. Will you meet me at the gate before you leave tomorrow? I have something I want to give to you." Gaara said boldly, yet again, suprising himself.

Ginhoshi turned, smiling brightly. "Okay. Tomorrow. I'll be there."

"Ginhoshi!"

"Right. I won't forget. Bye!" She yelled over her shoulder, as she ran off to find her brother.

Gaara watched her leave, completely amazed at how she had managed to keep his bloodlust down all day long. He was even more amazed at the fact that he had kept his self-control and not killed her. Somewhere, deep inside, he felt... warm... Unusual. He thought.

He smiled quietly to himself, twindling with the necklace Ginhoshi'd given him, as he walked on towards home.

...

Alright then. She ruffled through her pack once more, just to be sure she had everything. Now all that's left is to meet Gaara before we go.

Ginhoshi slung her pack over her shoulder and skipped out of the room. She walked softly next door and knocked once, then slide the door open a bit and stuck her head in the room.

"Big brother? Are you done packing yet?"

Hihoshi looked up to see his little sister at the door. He smiled. "Almost. Are you as impatient as I to get out of this smothering heat?" He smirked, jokingly.

Ginhoshi sighed and shooked her head, causing her stardusted curls to bounce about. "Not really. I made a friend yesterday, and I feel bad about leaving him. He's very lonely and doesn't have many friends."

Hihoshi chuckled as he reached for his water canteen, sitting on the table. "Always the noble Ginhoshi. So, who's your new friend?"

"His name's Gaara."

Hihoshi almost gagged on the mouthful of water he had.

"The *cough* j-jinchu-uriki?" He managed to choke out.

Ginhoshi nodded slowly, a little bit worried by her big brother's reaction. "What? Please tell me your joking Ginhoshi?" Hihoshi anxiously spluttered. "No... What's wrong?" She asked hesitantly.

He gaped at her, his face mortified. "What's wrong? What's wrong? He's a bloodthristy monster who kills people for his disturbing sadistic complacency! That's what's wrong!"

Ginhoshi gasped and bit her lip. "I know that he's... different, but that doesn't mean he'll hurt me, Hihoshi." She said coldly. Hihoshi gasped as well. She had never spoken to him like that before. "But I don't care about that. He's my friend and he hasn't hurt me at all. He was nice to me because I was nice to him. And he is not a monster! He's alone and left out, when all he wants is to fit in. And it's close-minded people like you that make it difficult for him to do that!" Ginhoshi yelled angerly in her bell like voice, her eyes brimming with tears.

She jerked her head out the door and slide it shut loudly and ran down the hallway, crying, leaving Hihoshi standing there shocked.

...

Ginhoshi ran through all the people, pushing her way past them, tears blurring her vision. She had only one place she wanted to get to. Only one person she wanted to see.

As she drew near the gate, she could see him standing by it, his head down, fiddling with something shiny in his fingers. She smiled, wiping the tears away and picking up the pace, eager to be comforted by her friend's presence.

...

Gaara looked up. There she is. He smiled lightly to himself. This smiling thing was becoming quite a nuisance. It had started ever since he had meet Ginhoshi yesterday. He'd even managed to petrify his older sister, Temari, by smiling at her when he'd returned home. Later, when he got to his room, hepulled a box out from a secret hidding place and had worked all night long creating the perfect thing to give to Ginhoshi.

A bracelet.

Well, a charm bracelet to be exact. The entire bracelet was constructed out of a special material. Iron Sand. Where Gaara obtained such a rare type of sand, no one knows. But it was purely indestructable and it shone in sunlight in a an unusual way, like Ginhoshi's hair. Gaara had been saving it for something special, and this was the perfect oppurtunity.

On the bracelet were three charms. The first was a small silver star, as Ginhoshi's name meant "silver star". The second was the kanji sign for friendship "Yuujou". And the third was the exact same kanji tattoo imbedded in Gaara's forehead. "Ai", meaning love.

Somewhere shortly after the time Ginhoshi had said good-night and rushed off to find her brother, Gaara had thought it over and decided to mark her as his. In the future, when they were much older, she would feel the overpowering urge to come back to Suna, where he would be waiting for her. Then she would be his forever.

Ginhoshi waved happily to Gaara and skidded to a stop in front of him. "Good-morning! I'm not too late, am I?" She grinned.

Gaara shook his head and looked into her face. His eyes widened a bit when he saw her red eyes and the tear stains running down her cheeks. "Why were you crying?" He asked softly. Somebody better not have hurt her, or I'll kill them...

She looked down, biting her lip. "It's nothing. My brother and I just had a small fight, that's all..." Ginhoshi looked up to him, her eyes once again brimming with tears. "He said you were a monster who would kill me without a second thought. You wouldn't, would you? Afterall, we are friends, right?"

"No. I can't kill you. Not because we're friends, but because I promised myself not to." Gaara whispered.

Wiping her tears away again, Ginhoshi smiled to herself. I knew Hihoshi was wrong! Gaara is not a monster. I knew it. I just knew it...

"I have something for you. Put out your hand."

Ginhoshi saw Gaara staring at her calmly. She smiled, and lifted her hand up into the air. "Close your eyes." Ginhoshi did as she was told, and felt something cool and smooth slide around her wrist. There was a small click, then Gaara said, "Now open them."

She opened her eyes slowly, gasping at what had been placed around her wrist. It was a lovely, small charm bracelet, made entirely out of some unknown sparkling silver metal. Dangling from it were three small charms. Each was the same color and material, yet unique individuals on their own. Ginhoshi smiled. "They're so...so pretty..." As she said that, they sparkled as a ray of sunlight hit them. "Thank-you! It's amazing. Where did you get it?"

The corner of Gaara's mouth twitched upwards, as he fought back a smile. "I made it."

Ginhoshi gasped, and smiled happily. "It's perfect. Now we both have symbols that mark our friendship. Mine is more of a promise, though. I promise to someday come back to Sunagakure no sato, no matter how long it takes. Will you wait for me?" She asked.

Gaara nodded, completely astounded that she would ever want to come back to Suna, especially just because he would be there. Does she feel it too?

Before he had time to ponder that, Ginhoshi jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Gaara, not used to the closeness of anyone, patted her back hesitantly. "Ginhoshi," He said quietly. Smiling, she replied, "Yes, Gaara?"

"I...can't...breathe.."

Blushing, she let go of her oxygen deprived friend. "Sorry." She said and stepped back.

"Do you pinky promise?" She asked, sticking her pinky finger up. Gaara nodded, smiling. The two interlocked pinkies and shook on it. "Good. Because I cross my heart and hope to die, that I will come back here, someday."

Ginhoshi then placed her hand on the necklace that she had given Gaara the day before. The jewel began to glow. She smiled. "It still works. Now, it is holding me to my word, and it will glow again, whenever I am near, so you'll know it's me. Keep it with you always. Until we meet again."

Gaara smiled, putting his hand on hers. "I will. But you have to do the same." He indicated to the charm bracelet.

"I will keep it 'till the day I see you again. I promise."

A small rush of wind came from behind Ginhoshi. "We are leaving now, Ginhoshi. Come on." Hihoshi said stiffly, walking past the two towards the gate. As he passed Gaara, he gave him a cold glare, which Gaara returned. "Well, it's time for me to go. I'll miss you, Gaara. You're my first and only friend I've ever had. You won't forget me, will you?"

"No. Will you?" Gaara asked quietly as Ginhoshi released his hand and walked by him, then stopping.

Ginhoshi turned to look over her shoulder, at Gaara. "Nope. Never. I promise!" She smiled. Then she sped off to her waiting brother.

"She'll come back, someday. She promised." Gaara whispered to himself. He reached up to clutch the necklace. "She promised." Ginhoshi's words played over and over in his head.

I promise

I promise

I promise...

Wow! I'm tired! It's late, so I'm going to bed, but I'll write a sequel to this if I get at least five good reviews. Anyway, review!