Chapter 2: Breakfast. Ice Cream With Black & White Movies.

Previously: Flipping the switch on her iPod player, she started to make breakfast, her favorite song almost blasting out of the speakers. She cooked her eggs singing along to the tune. "Gimme a shot to remember and you can take all this pain away from me..."


-- Meanwhile --

Gaara rubbed his eyes. He had never slept a day in his life and he was still trying to get used to it. Gaara had resigned from being Kazekage and appointed Temari instead. She had really proved herself over the years as a better Kazekage and she was used to handling jobs like that. Plus, the village didn't have a horrific and unending fear of her.

But sleeping was hard. Ever since 3 months ago when the demon inside him had been destroyed, he tried to sleep, but could never really get used to the strange feeling. 'I just have to see her, just one time,' he thought to himself. "Damn it," he said aloud to himself. 'What is it about her? I can't stop thinking about her. Why is she so different?' he thought nervously, 'And why the hell does she seem so familiar? Could she be……no. There's no way it could be her…'

Gaara got up and changed into his usual outfit and slung his gourd across his back, before jumping out his bedroom window and heading over to a certain weapons' mistress's estate. From a faint distance, Gaara heard a quite familiar song. In fact, it used to be his favorite song, when he actually listened to music, before. He began to hum in his head – something he had never really done before. 'I'd like to burn all the empires...You know with all of these vampires...'

Gaara crept into a window upstairs and walked through the hallway. He kept hidden in his sand and the shadows, while he made his way down the stairs to the sound of TenTen's singing. Her singing started to die down with the song. She stopped moving for five seconds. She turned off the music player, looking over at the living room doorway. TenTen opened her cupboard and took out a shuriken, but put it back in its place by the plates, when she sensed the familiar smell of sand and clover.

She turned around and walked out into the living room doorway. "I haven't started eating yet. There's eggs, noodles and toast. You're welcomed to join me, if you like; I don't mind," she said with a smirk and turned back into the kitchen. 'Damn, how did she know I was here? I'm not even using chakra,' thought Gaara as he emerged from a shadow of sand that wasn't particularly visible to the human eye (for that record). He walked nervously to the kitchen and set his gourd down outside the doorway. He sat down opposite from her and was surprised to find a plate was in front of him already.

"You know you never really told me your name," said the weapons mistress while putting a scoop of noodles on her plate and grabbing a slice of toast. "Gaara," he replied softly, as he took some eggs and a slice of toast as well. "So, why didn't you kill me, Gaara," she asked keeping her eyes down on her plate. This caught him of guard a bit. "I've heard that you kill people for fun. What's your story," she asked taking a bite of toast, and letting her words soak in. "My life is too gruesome and full of hatred to tell you," he said taking a deep breath and trying his best not to scare her. Her reply was, as usual, completely unexpected.

"It can't be that bad. You wanna hear hatred? I'll start with my story, then. Both my parents are dead. My mom tried to drown me, and my dad committed suicide after my mom drowned herself." At this point, Gaara stopped eating.

"Wait," he said suddenly, looking up at TenTen. "You're mother commit suicide?"

"Yeah," TenTen replied looking back. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. That's just a…never mind," he mumbled sheepishly.

"I like to play with knives," she continued, "I use my older sister and ex-best friend as target practice. As in I throw knives and weapons at them and try to kill them every time I see them because all they ever seem to say is that everything in this world is a lie, but I don't want to believe that! I'm not going to. I'm known to most as the weapons' mistress, and I tend to scare people when I'm quiet. But that's only because people know how much damage I can cause, especially when I'm mad; and when I'm mad, I'm usually very quiet!"

TenTen became silent. The silence was just what they needed, no matter who much they loathed it. Trying to break the cruel silence before her anger got to her, TenTen continued, "I am pretty sure your life can't be that bad."

'Shit,' Gaara thought in complete shock. 'I can't believe this is the life my Uncle gave her memory. Should I say something? God, this is so messed up and it's all my fault, but why does she not seem so troubled about it? She's like how I am when I kill—unmoving and sadistically calm. Damn it…" he thought.

The room was horribly silent again. TenTen felt rather nervous about the situation and the returning flashbacks that they both were having. Though, Gaara's were more in her mind than she would ever know.

"Well," TenTen said somewhat cheerfully, "So, what's your story?" Gaara paused trying to figure out what to say. "My father has been trying to kill me, since I was five, and I killed my mother during childbirth. I drink the blood of my victims through my sand, which, I guess, makes me a vampire. I can't control my emotions and I used to have one of the tailed demon-lords inside of me. I like killing people though, that's the…thing. I just like the taste of blood and I've been completely alone without anyone, no family and no friends for as long as I can remember. Well, except for one person..."

"Who was that person," TenTen asked. "Well, she was my first friend," he continued, "I met her when I was seven. She was the only person that was like me. I thought she was still alive, but she's probably dead by now," he said looking at her and stopping shortly when he realized he was staring at TenTen's brown eyes. TenTen stared back at him trying to figure out how she even thought of welcoming this psycho in for breakfast.

"Umm," she started, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, right," Gaara replied shaking his head from a glimpse of a memory he thought he saw in her eyes. "When we were little kids, the day she disappeared, I remember she had given me a bear that I had tied two hair ribbons to, on its ears. And I had given her a bear, as well. She had tied my…a red sash on it," Gaara said, quickly correcting himself before TenTen noticed.

"Funny," TenTen said. "I have a bear with a red sash around it. I've had it for as long as I could remember, but it's probably not the same one. You said you're friend was probably dead, and I've never really met you before today………Life can't be that horrible to you, Gaara."

He looked up at her and stared at her as if she was stupid. "Everyone who's met me pretty much hates and fears me, so I think I should just go..." he nearly shouted, though regretting the last words dearly.

He got up from the table, said a small "Arrigato" for the breakfast, and made his way to his gourd in the living room. Gaara stopped and tried to think of a way to erase the words he just said. He turned back around and, as he opened his mouth to say something, TenTen said "I don't hate you." She had her back to him and was washing up the dishes.

"You want some ice cream," she said, drying her hands and opening her freezer. She took out two small tubs of vanilla ice cream. He looked at her quite confused before taking the tub and spoon she was handing him. "We just ate breakfast," he said. "I know," she replied, "When I think about my parents and what they did to me, and themselves, I eat a tub of ice cream and watch old movies on TV. You know, to get my mind off things. It really does work."

TenTen opened her cupboard and took out some peanut butter which she topped her ice cream with. "Want a topping?" she asked. Gaara looked into his tub of ice cream at the vanilla swirled inside. "Hot Sauce," he said and smiled (another thing he hadn't done in a long time; well, except for when he was killing some random person).

The sound of a young woman crying to her lover before he kills another man was heard from the plasma screen TV TenTen owned. "Casablanca" was on and the two were sitting on the couch staring at the black and white movie each adding in their own commentary about how an execution would really take place (lost in their little ninja minds).

-- Meanwhile --

Neji looked back and forth between TenTen and Gaara seeing that TenTen was actually enjoying herself instead of staring angrily at her breakfast, which sadly, would not be eaten. Neji knew TenTen was sick and growing weaker, because she was too bent up on anger and countless emotions. He hadn't seen her eat for days and was very worried. He looked at Gaara and for the first time in his life, saw contentment in Gaara's eyes and somehow knew that Gaara would not truly hurt TenTen, but instead accept her. Maybe, just maybe, he could accept himself as well, and just maybe TenTen could accept him.

Neji smiled softly, and chuckled to himself. "I really do hope those two get together and stay that way. They're so different from one another, yet so alike." He jumped off the tree branch and on to the ground. Running swiftly, Neji grinned, remembering how foolish he used to be about fate and destiny, until Hinata nearly beat him. He picked up his speed a bit, looking very forward to his meeting with Hiashi. He was so glad that Hiashi-sama accepted Hinata more as well as accepted Neji.

"I hope he says yes, this time" Neji thought to himself; hand in his pocket gripping tightly to the small black box with a golden ring inside.

After the movie was finished, TenTen looked over at Gaara who was mindlessly twirling his spoon in his empty tub. As if reading each others' minds, both said "Wanna go train?" TenTen smiled. "I'll get my weapons" and Gaara smiled back "I'll get my gourd."

At the training grounds, the sounds of silence could be heard and, now and then, a huge resounding crash. "Where are you," Gaara thought as he scanned the training grounds. Somewhere in the distance, a twig snapped and a large Katana came hurdling towards him. His sand came up swiftly and blocked the attack just in time. "Damn," TenTen thought. "How the hell am I supposed to get this guy?! If I could only stop his sand from blocking all my attacks, maybe I could–" TenTen froze. Gaara was gone. "Great," TenTen thought quietly.

She jumped from her hiding spot and into a nearby tree. Watching silently, she looked around the grounds for some sign of him, when, out of nowhere, a huge wall of sand came up behind her and grabbed her tightly. "What the hell?!" she exclaimed as she came crashing down from the tree branch and onto the soft grass. Unable to move and enclosed in a blanket of sand, TenTen tried to break free, but only making the pain worse.

"Ha!" thought Gaara, "I've got you now." Then, Gaara revealed himself and came towards her. Looking down at her helpless body, Gaara suddenly had a strong urge of a sinister kind. The type of urge he used to have when the demon lord was inside of him.

Gripping his hand tighter, the sand began to slowly tighten around TenTen, making it hard for her to breathe. She looked up swiftly at him in complete terror. Looking into his eyes, she didn't see the kind eyes she saw earlier, but saw those of menacing hatred and evil. As a tear rolled down her cheek, she closed her eyes and began to scream.