Chapter 2

The sun was beginning its descent in the sky when Temari looked over at her brother and the pink-haired girl in the sand pit. Against all expectations, Gaara's sand had not once acted in a threatening manner towards the girl.

One of the children Temari had been playing with raised a camera to take a picture. As soon as the camera clicked, Temari was snatching it out of his hand and pointing it at the two six-year olds.

At that moment, Sakura looked up and gave Gaara a bright smile that Gaara echoed with a small, but genuine one. Temari snapped the photo before the moment ended.

She turned towards the boy who was still gaping at her for snatching his camera away.

"I'll return this later," she told him. "With a new roll of film and your pictures."

The boy glared after her as she circled around the sandbox to continue taking pictures.

Gaara and Sakura never left the sandbox and no other children approached them. Occasionally a group of children would pass closely and quickly while glaring and muttering about the "monster" or the "demon". These children were quickly silenced by Gaara's cold and Sakura's heated glares.

When the sun was low in the sky, Yashamaru appeared and called the four children to him. Sakura pouted some, but obediently followed Gaara back to the blonde haired man.

"Sakura," Temari said, gaining the pinkette's attention. "Did you have fun?'

Sakura smiled brightly, "Yup! Gaara and I had lots of fun! He's my first friend."

"Really?" Temari said with surprise as she began fingering the camera hanging around her neck.

Her siblings and Yashamaru looked surprised as well. This kind girl was claiming the outcast of Suna as her first friend? Yashamaru wondered what issues the peace-famed Konoha faced for this to be the case.

"Yeah," Sakura said sadly, ignorant of the shock on her companion's faces. "All the kids in Konoha tease me because of my forehead." She absentmindedly reached up to rub a hand across her forehead, "It's okay though! I have Gaara-kun now!"

Sakura and her parents sat together at a low table. Before them were traditional dishes from Suna. The ones that looked similar to those Sakura encountered in Konoha, the girl readily ate. The odder ones, she poked at before bravely trying or altogether ignoring

"Sakura," the girl's mother started. "How was your day?"

"We went to the park and Gaara-kun and I played in the sandbox all day!" Sakura proclaimed happily, oblivious to her parents reaction at the red-head's name. "A lot of the kids were mean to Gaara-kun. Like the kids at home are to me!" A furious frown marred the child's face. "I didn't like it so I ignored them and went to play with Gaara-kun. He's nice and he didn't tease me! I don't know why they call him names and ignore him!"

Her parents smiles were laced with indulgence at her words.

When the two adults had been told about the Kazekage's youngest child, and his status as the jinjuriki of the Ichibi, Shukaku.

He was a killer, ninja and civilians alike whispered- unstable, insane. He killed indiscriminately. When anyone approached him, they were enveloped by his sand and crushed to death; rarely was anything left of his victims.

When they had heard these tales of the child, they had feared for Sakura's life, but listening to her now, animatedly telling them about Gaara, made them question what they had been told. Surely the boy that Sakura had spent the day playing with couldn't be the monster the village made him out as.

Gaara stood on the roof, silently staring out over Suna. He was unable to sleep, as always. Unlike other nights, however, the bloodlust he usually experienced was tempered by the pleasant thoughts of the day, specifically emerald eyes shining with laughter. Sakura had surprised him by ignoring the warning of the children on the playground and choosing to play with him.

Gaara had vague memories of playing with other children when he was younger, but the only interactions he had now were tarnished by animosity and fear over something he couldn't control.

Gaara's sand suddenly reacted, brushing away a kunai that the child could not readily detect. The red-head turned quickly towards his attacker and sent his sand to bash away the mask disguising him. Gaara gasped when the familiar face was exposed to him.

Yashamaru, the child thought. Why

"Why," the thought was repeated out loud, but only in a traumatized whisper.

"It was an order," the blonde-haired man replied.

"You were forced to?" Gaara responded hopefully.

"No, I could have refused this mission," Yashamaru smiled. "You killed my sister. I hate you. You're a demon."

The pure hatred laced in the blonde's voice stunned Gaara to the core. He was momentarily unable to react beyond stunned silence as Yashamaru opened his shirt, exposing explosive tags.

"Please, Gaara," Yashamaru begged. "Die."

With that, the tags that were wrapped around Yashamaru's torso exploded, drowning out Gaara's scream of betrayal. Simultaneously, Gaara's sand wrapped around him, protecting him from the blast.

After a few moments, the sand cleared exposing a blank-faced Gaara with the kanji for love forever imprinted on his forehead.

Gaara's eyes darkened. He wouldn't ever let anyone else betray him

Sakura lay in her hotel bed, faintly able to hear her parents speaking about her and Gaara. She had been trying to sleep for the past few hours, but was unable to due to a strange sense of unease. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was.

Sakura stared at her ceiling, hearing Gaara's name again from the next room over. Her ears strained to hear what her parents were saying. She was so focused on trying to hear their conversation that she failed to realize the sand creeping into her bed until it was wrapped around her in a thick cocoon.

Sakura looked around for the source of the sand. Her head first turned to the door, then to the window. Gaara stood on the window sill staring at her with dead, sea green eyes.

Does this have something to do with that feeling? Sakura wondered.

"Gaara?" she hesitantly questioned. "What's wrong?"

The red-head moved silently towards her without responding. When he reached her, he placed one small hand on her forehead.

Up close, Sakura was able to see the new addition to his face and she briefly wondered where it had come from. She didn't have much time to ponder it as Gaara's hand came up to cover her mouth.

"I won't let you betray me," the boy said harshly. "You will never betray me. Not like Yashamaru did. You'll love only me. You'll fight only for me."

Sakura nodded. She didn't quite understand what he was saying, but she desperately wanted to follow his orders so that he didn't leave her. She didn't want to lose her first, and only, friend.

Gaara's lips curved into a small smile. It did nothing to soften the coldness of his eyes, but Sakura was grateful to see it none-the-less.

A sharp pain started under the hand that Gaara had placed on her forehead. As it grew more intense, Sakura's body arched, fighting against the sand that trapped her. She screamed against the hand covering her mouth as her eyes clenched shut and tears leaked out.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the sharp pain stopped, leaving behind an uncomfortable ache.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly.

Cold green met their watery counterparts.

Mine.