Hello! This is my first Naruto story! It will mainly focus on Gaara, since he's my favourite character. :D He hasn't appeared in the show yet, so I hope I got his character right.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. All characters from Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a fan-fiction.

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---Chapter 1---

---Empty Mirrors---

---Normal POV---

The wind blew across the desert freely, twisting the sand into scarcely visible forms. The sand blew around, doing a sharp but gentle dance, becoming less and less in the jagged but soft cuts of the air. Rising and falling, the glistening golden sand moved as one with the transparent, ghostly wind. As the sapphire of the sky rose into the azure depths above, creatures in the desert scurried for protection against the growing heat.

Red locks of hair blew about in the wind. The tail of a scarf batted about, twisting and coiling behind its owner; the figure walked through the empty desert, dragging his feet silently through the sand. Vacant, light green eyes stared at the golden powder below. As he walked, he came across a lone, almost bare tree. He stared at it, and then a sadistic smile crept onto his face. His vacant eyes gleamed with insanity. He raised his hand, sand slowly creeping up to mimic his actions. He stretched his hand toward the tree, and the sand menacingly began to twist around the trunk and branches. The tree grew to about twice its original size with its ever growing sand shell. The sand settled, and he smirked.

The voice of the teenager sounded demonic and possessed as he spoke sadistic words. "Desert Funeral." The adolescence fisted his hand tightly in the air. The sand shell tightened around the tree before completely imploding. The chaotic mess left behind was quite a sight. If one thought the tree was morbid before, they would have thought it was beautiful had they seen what the insane teenager did to it. Its branches lay broken, twisted and splintered. The trunk had been snapped completely, and countless scraped slivers of it lay scattered amongst the sand.

Feeling the mad power rush through his veins, the red-head continued on his way through the sands. His eyes were vacant but filled with madness; the smile of insanity was still upon his face.

The large gourd carried on his back seemed to have a very dark aura around it. With many seals and ancient words scripted on it, one could guess it was a seal for something very powerful. The teen reached up with his hand, and placed his fingertips on a particular spot on his forehead. His smile widened. He ran his fingers over the permanent kanji symbol on his left temple. It meant 'love'. He had no love for others, only for himself. How well the character fitted him; he hated every being that shared the planet with him, except himself. He knew how powerful he was.

Empty green orbs scanned the dry terrain, finally spotting a figure in the distance. The glint of insanity in his eyes grew intensely. It appeared he had found his doomed prey. His eyes narrowed predatorily, and before he was acknowledged, he slipped away with his sadistic smile at full blast.

The unknowing traveler heaved a great sigh. The desert seemed to stretch on forever- and as far as he knew, it did. He climbed another sand dune and glanced around. The wind was starting to pick up quickly. The traveler raised an arm to shield his eyes from sharp sand blowing in the powerful breeze. It was curious, how the wind could just rise in power in such a short period of time. He heard a strange, hollow howl of wind, and it sent chills down the traveler's spine. Suddenly, he didn't feel alone anymore. A feeling of fear and panic filled him, and he didn't know the reason why. He clambered over more sand dunes, in a greater hurry than before. His panicked breathing rattled as he pushed himself to a run in the deep sand. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but his throat closed up in fear at seeing what he did. He tripped, catching himself with his hands. Sand coiled around his ankles and wrists ominously. His heart seemed to stop working in fear. The traveler tried to stand, but the sand worked its way up and began to encircle him whole. The man let out a strangled cry as the sand began to obscure his vision. A shadowed figure seemed to rise from the sand. Its glaring vacant eyes glinted insanely at him; the darkness surrounding its eyes only added to the affect. It bore a sadistic smile.

"W-what are you?" The traveler cried in a strangled voice. The psychopath's smile only broadened.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara," The demonic voice spoke. "Your doom." And that was the last thing the traveler ever heard, before being completely engulfed in pain as the sand imploded on him, sending blood everywhere.

---

A teenage girl with pink hair walked along a bridge. She was on her way to meet her ninja team, so they could do their mission for the day. She wore a ninja headband, bearing the sign of the Leaf Village. Her lively green-grass eyes sparkled brightly as she smiled sweetly, seeing one of her team members already there.

The teenager had black hair that was spiky in the back. He also wore a ninja Leaf Village headband. He stood, leaning against the railing of the bridge, in a very stoic pose. Arms crossed across his chest, he had a slight look of annoyance on his face.

"Sasuke-kun! Good morning!" The pink-haired girl chirped, waving her hand enthusiastically. She got a cold stare in return, but a nod to show that he accepted the greeting. The girl didn't let it get her down; she knew he was always like this.

A boy with blonde hair stood near the boy named Sasuke, and watched the girl's every movement. As she neared, he let out a whistle.

"HEY, Sakura-chan! Lookin' good this morning!" The blonde exclaimed, letting out a huge grin. The pink-haired teen named Sakura turned her head to look at him.

"Yeah. Hi, Naruto-kun." She waved it off. Naruto still beamed at her. His blonde hair gleamed in the bright sunlight, and the sparkling blue depths he had for eyes showed happiness towards her. Sakura was thankful he cared so much, but sometimes it was kind of… creepy.

"Kakashi-Sensei isn't here yet, is he?" Sakura questioned, already knowing the answer. She sat down in between Sasuke and Naruto, hugging her knees. It was really early in the morning, and she would rather be sleeping if Kakashi was going to be late. Again. She dropped her head to rest on her knees, and felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

Sasuke glanced around, feeling his temper rising. If Kakashi wouldn't come soon, he would have a tantrum. Not that he would let it out anyway. His cold, dark eyes glared at the railing on the opposite side of the bridge, trying to break it in half with his vision. Even the railing didn't want to co-operate with him this morning! He turned his glare to Naruto, and turned it up to full blast. He really detested the baka Naruto! What was there to be happy about, anyway?

Naruto felt eyes watching him, and he turned his head to meet Sasuke's evilest death glare. He raised an eyebrow at him, and then beamed sheepishly. Sasuke glared, but then had to look away before the blonde's smile became contagious. There was just something about Naruto's smile that made people that watched want to smile too.

Sasuke continued to glare dangerously at the railing, and then noticed something strange about the spot he was staring at. Before any of them knew it, a large poof appeared in front of them, and jumping down off the railing from the smoke, stood Kakashi.

"Kakashi-Sensei, you're LATE!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Yo." Kakashi stated bluntly, raising his hand in greeting. "I was late…because my car broke down."

"You don't have a car," Sasuke said mildly, glaring at the lying man.

Kakashi's silver hair blew in the slight breeze; it shone brightly in the sun. He stared at them with his one uncovered eye, and then stepped forward. He adjusted the ninja Leaf Village headband that was across his other eye to be more comfortable.

Changing the subject, Kakashi turned his head to stare out across the water.

"Strange how the wind keeps picking up, isn't it?"

"Stop changing the subject, Sensei! Just face it, you were late." Sakura had woken up, and glared at him dangerously. Kakashi didn't avert his gaze from the water. "But honestly, don't you think it's strange? All throughout the morning it kept rising and falling…"

Sakura nodded, noting the seriousness in his voice; she could sense there was something strange about the weather too. Naruto grinned.

"Hey, can we just start on our mission already!"

"Yes, Naruto. I was going to give you a day off, actually, but since you requested it…"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Naruto-baka! What's wrong with you!"

"NARUTO! When I get my hands on you-!"

And with that, Naruto was off to a bad morning, with his team mates trying to use him as a target to practice their ninja moves.

---

The jagged shadow of a tall tree veiled the red-head from the burning sunlight. The tree was burned and dead- the result from growing in the desert. Gaara leaned back against it, the heinous gourd resting beside him. Today had been pleasant for him; he had gotten to blow a tree to smithereens, and he had caught his prey for the morning. Now, he was bored. There was nothing for him to do. He would crush this tree after he was done resting in its shade, but that was all he had to look forward to.

A sudden bark startled him from his thoughts. He glanced in the direction of the sound, and came face to face with a cute dog. It had bright, happy eyes and nice gray fur; it almost resembled a wolf. Gaara let out an ominously low growl and stared at it with his blank, hypnotic eyes. The sand that swirled around him threatened to climb up the dog's limbs. The dog's hair stood on end, and it whimpered; its ears were down. It began to back away slowly and then trotted away quickly, tail between its legs. The red-headed psychopath snorted and scowled. Why did everything have to bother him so? It really got on his nerves.

Gaara walked along a sandy cobble walkway in Sunagakure. After he had scared away the stray dog, he had blown up the tree, just as he had that morning. The streets were extremely busy in Sunagakure during mid-day. Everyone avoided eye contact with him, and made sure to give him his space. The mad power still flowed through his veins; he wanted to release it all on the whole village, but he didn't want to waste all of his energy on something so pointless.

A scream echoed off of the stone buildings, making everybody silent. More screams and yells followed that one, and the crowd became restless and panicked. Gaara hid in an alleyway, peaking from behind the corner of a building. He saw blood. He saw people being attacked, people defending themselves, people getting hurt, people dying. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the main problem of the sudden commotion. A tall figure dressed in black was the attacker. The skilled fighter clutched a kunai in each hand, and slashed at anybody that was in its way. The shadowy figure was silent and light on its feet; it was as if somebody had pressed the mute button. Many people were scattered on the ground, wounded and exhausted. Gaara stood, smirking. Should he decide to save everyone? He would be looked up to. Should he decide to join the assassin? He would be pleased, and no longer bored.

The silent assassin ran along the wall of a building, and jumped into the middle of the panicked crowd. The movements of the figure were too fast to see, thus causing it to be a blur. The stones that made up the street were now becoming stained with crimson. Gaara scowled at the scene, and then crossed his arms over his chest. He was going to go back home; if he helped the assassin, he would be in unimaginable trouble with the current Kazekage. He didn't want to help the citizens either, so there was no point of him staying where he was.

A small tug on the tail of his scarf caught his attention. He looked down, only to be greeted with a shaking form. A young boy, about five or six years of age, was on his knees, holding on to the end of Gaara's scarf lightly. Tears ran down the boy's face, a look of pain in his eyes. The boy's hair was originally brown in colour, but it was stained with red. He had a wound on his shoulder, blood freely running from it. Gaara felt a twinge of annoyance. Why did everyone keep bothering him!

"M-mommy..." The boy cried softly. "P-please save my mommy…" The boy's hand dropped from his scarf, as he passed out. Gaara didn't feel like saving anyone. He looked closer at the scene in front of him, and saw a woman being beaten by the assassin. She was bleeding quite severely. Gaara sighed. He had to save the woman, or the kid beside him would never forgive him for leaving her there, and would track him down as he got older. Gaara didn't need anybody else on his tail.

The figure veiled in black mutely attacked from every angle. The woman had her arms up in defense, but it was no help to her. She screamed in anguish and pain as the assassin got her with the kunai. Where was her son, her beloved young son? Was he alright? That was all that mattered, even if she didn't make it out alive. The assassin elbowed a person trying to stop him from behind, and kicked another away. The woman was kicked harshly in the ribs, and she coughed up blood. She could already foresee her future. Misery welled up inside her, as blotchy tears fell from her eyes and onto the crimson ground below.

The assassin raised its hand and pointed the kunai downwards. The woman closed her eyes, unable to watch her fate happen. A strange rushing sound was heard and then a thump, and slowly, when nothing happened, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the sky. She clambered onto her knees, and then unsteadily onto her feet. The woman saw the assassin lying on the ground. Putting two and two together, she figured that the assassin impacted with the wall; she looked around, trying to find the source of the power.

In a dark alleyway on the opposite side of the street, there stood a figure with his hand outstretched. He seemed to glow with a dark aura. Sand coiled around his form and around his outstretched hand. The golden powder encircled the assassin's wrists and ankles, to make sure it couldn't get up. The woman did not recognize the shadowy form until she saw the insane gleam in his eyes. Her eyes widened in fear; the monster would probably help the assassin kill her. She dropped to her knees, a hand to her wound. She searched the crowd for her son and spotted her beside the monster. She gasped, but could not move.

Gaara stepped from the shadows and watched the woman's angry and frightened expression. He knew what she was thinking, and wasn't sure why he was saving her anyway. He raised his hand slowly, the sand surrounding the assassin mimicking him. The sand grew to a shell, and once again, Gaara's irises seemed to shrink with insanity.

---

Naruto panted heavily as he raced around the village, trying to escape his angry team mates. He had run all the way to the entrance of the village, in order to escape from them.

"It's not polite to just run from people, you know." Naruto spun around and spotted Kakashi standing in the shadow of a building.

"Well, it's more than polite to run when they're trying to freakin' hurt me!" The blonde said, trying to regain his breath. A strange chill came from the wind. He looked up, sensing something strange. Everything seemed suddenly so much darker.

"Look out!" Before Naruto could blink, Kakashi stood in front of him, blocking a thrown dagger with his own. Naruto's eyes widened. Was somebody trying to attack them! Naruto placed his hand on his kunai, taking it out quickly and getting into fighting position. Kakashi stood not too far from him, concentrating on finding the source of the problem. Sakura and Sasuke ran to catch up to them.

"We're being attacked!" Naruto exclaimed, letting his eyes roam the landscape for any traces of the enemy. Sakura's eyes widened in shock, but quickly got out her kunai. Sasuke already had his out, and he was intent on finding the intruder.

A sharp pierce of pain shot through Naruto's shoulder, and he winced. The blonde looked at his shoulder, and saw a sharp dagger sticking into it. He looked at the direction it came from, and surely enough he saw a quick blur moving between trees.

"There!" He hissed while keeping his eyes trained on the quick attacker. Sasuke followed the figure closely with his vision. He let out a quick growl before raising his arm and flinging the kunai at the blur. With dead accuracy, the kunai hit the figure. The shadowed attacker stopped for a moment, leaning against the tree to pull out the kunai. Kakashi ran forward and then jumped at the same tree. Sakura ran to the right to get a better view, and threw her kunai from the back. The figure was too busy blocking Kakashi's strong attacks to block Sakura's kunai.

The shadowed figure fell from the tree's protection and onto the ground. Angrily, Naruto threw his kunai at him. He blinked, and then watched his dagger get stuck in the tree. Question marks appeared over the blonde's head as he pondered about the mute figure. Where could it have gone so fast? Naruto spun around and blocked a punch. Ah. There it was. The silent assassin blocked attacks with one arm with expertise as it reached into a pocket to retrieve a weapon. A quick kick from behind stopped the assassin. There stood Sasuke, who had retrieved his kunai. Naruto stood upon the assassin's back proudly; this time, it wasn't going anywhere. Sakura walked around to the side, and watched Naruto practically dance on the assassin. Sasuke sweat dropped, knowing only Naruto would do such a thing. Kakashi jumped down to join Team 7.

"Well done, all of you." Kakashi stated, watching the figure on the ground closely.

"Naruto, you should get off of the assassin now, I think it's already dead." Sakura stated blandly, sweat dropping. Naruto looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Well THIS time I helped a LOT so you guys can't compl-GAH!" Naruto was cut off as he fell backwards. He groaned and rubbed his head. The blonde opened his eyes and looked around, not finding any traces of the assassin he had pinned down just seconds ago.

"Right when I was giving my victory speech, too…"

---

When the attacker was completely covered in sand, the red-head fisted his hand. "Desert Funeral." The sand imploded on the figure. Strangely, no blood fell. The sand dripped down to the ground, returning back to its master. The crowd looked fearfully at him, not sure weather the assassin or Gaara was worse. Gaara glared at them all. The boy beside him was sitting up, conscious. The woman ran crookedly to her son, her leg being twisted. The boy cried and hugged her.

"Mommy!"

"I'm so glad you're alright! Did that monster hurt you?" She glared up at Gaara, but could not stare for long into those insane eyes.

"No, he's the one that saved you!" The boy exclaimed, turning to the red-head. "Thank you, mister!" The woman grabbed her son and walked quickly away from Gaara, stating crossly to her son that he was never allowed to talk to that monster.

The red-head gave a last glare to the woman he had saved, and then turned to walk out of the alleyway and down the street. He paused, feeling his anger bubble in his blood. The sand subconsciously twisted around him. A low growl began in his throat and worked its way up to an angry scream as the sand exploded outwards, slamming everyone near him into the buildings. He scowled; his darkest glare visible in his eyes as he walked down the street, the sand still crawling around him.

Yes, he thought, he was a monster.

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Gah, that was LONG! XX I hope you all enjoyed it.

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Please be aware that I have MANY stories on my plate, and I try and update them all, so that will cause me not to update this for a very long time. Please be patient. ;.;

ALSO IMPORTANT: According to my mental plan of this fanfic's future plot, Gaara will become more and more out of character. Just thought I'd tell ye. :)

Just to make sure, a kunai is those sharp dagger things that ninjas use, right?

Please review:D

-Phoenix