A/N: Someone reviewed! Wow, haha. Anyway so I've decided to continue my story because even if I didn't get any reviews, the storyline in my head is too good to pass up.

Jenvaati: Thanks for reviewing! I added the voice in her head because it would add, yeah, humor. Seki won't be cheerful for long though, hope you stay to see why.

Hurting

Seki grinned as she walked around the house, surveying her new home. It was big, and had a lot of room due to Keimyou's lack of interest for any ornaments and decorative things. She went to her room and found a comfortable single bed beside the wall and a large teak wardrobe, although she had little use for it. Placing her sling bag on the bed, Seki wondered what her uncle would think if she sprayed her orange dye on the walls. She felt the plain, white walls and giggled as she felt sand.

Well, I guess this is expected from the Sunagakure.

Skipping out to the kitchen where Keimyou was preparing dinner, Seki wondered aloud, "How come there's no one else here?"

"I'm a bachelor, Seki, and I plan to stay this way," Seki giggled as Keimyou smirked and brought out a pot of soup. Keimyou was never interested in a lot of things, especially women. He liked his simple ways of life and hated to change, which was why he left her tribe in the first place. He preferred the calm, peaceful life in Sunagakure.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Keimyou stopped resisting and asked, "Seki, why are you here?"

Seki's hand held a soup spoon that stopped halfway to her mouth. She kept her head low, not wanting to keep eye contact with Keimyou.

"It... happened. After I found out that Iwashi..."

Understanding dawned in Keimyou's dark red eyes and he too, lowered his head.

"Did anyone survive?"

"Yes, a few other members who were away on a trip."

"And...?"

"They... They chased me out," Seki finished so softly her uncle had to strain to hear her last words. Small tears dripped into her soup as Keimyou stood up and went around the table to comfort her niece. He placed an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, I won't let it happen here."

Seki looked up at her uncle and whispered, "Really?" Keimyou nodded firmly and hugged the 12 year old. He could only imagine how long ago this had happened, and how much she had been through. No one deserved to lose their family this way. No one deserved to be alone.

Not even him.

"Uncle?" Keimyou looked down at the brown haired girl. She had dried her tears and was smiling now.

"Yes, Seki?"

"Can I paint the walls of my bedroom orange?" Chuckling, Keimyou nodded slightly.

"Of course," he answered simply and let her walk back into the room, closing the door behind her. Sighing, Keimyou collected their bowls and headed to the kitchen.

I wonder where she'll go tonight?

-

Seki shivered a little as another cold breeze slapped on her skin. Her hair flew wildly while she sat atop the roof of her new home and admired the full moon. Smiling sadly, she knew Keimyou had expected her to travel around the village, since she always escaped at night when she was upset in her childhood. It was a habit she had developed out of concern when they told her about her problem. But she didn't feel like exploring the village tonight, she was tired after the journey to Suna, however not tired enough to fall asleep.

Iwashi... Enzeru...

A scream pierced the still air of the night, and shook Seki out of her thoughts. She frowned towards a lit restaurant where the source of the scream had come from. Deciding against her will, and following her curiosity, Seki leaped gracefully over rooftops towards the only light in the dark village. She stopped on a brown roof that overlooked the restaurant. Nothing seemed out of place, except for the lack of people.

Strange. Won't people usually come out to find out what happened? Seki wondered and descended on the soft ground. Glancing around, she spotted something moving on the sand. She followed it to a dark alley, which was not a problem for someone like her. Seki heard the sound of someone whimpering, begging for mercy and crept closer. She quietly took out a kunai and armed herself against an invisible enemy.

"Sabaku Sousou!"

Seki's eyes widened as she turned a corner of the alley to see a man being crushed by a cocoon of sand. Blood suddenly splattered everywhere and the man's shouts of pain were cut short by his immediate death. Seki watched as sand moved to soak the blood on the ground and walls. She saw it raise in the air and enter a large, familiar looking gourd on someone's back. The moonlight revealed a guy with red hair.

"Gaara?"

The boy whipped his head around in surprise, but his eyes held something different. Seki had no time to wonder what it was as she felt sand circling both her calves. Jumping quickly, Seki tried to use her kunai to fend off the approaching sand. She back flipped away from Gaara, who was not moving at all and merely staring at her every move. Gritting her teeth, Seki stopped trying to run away and thrust her palm out.

"Kaze no tate!"

Gaara blinked as the sand seemed to bump into an invisible wall. Seki smirked and watched as the sand tried to penetrate her defense to no avail. She took a quick glance at Gaara, still maintaining his stance. Unnerved with his lack of reaction, Seki opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when she felt increasing pressure on her shield. The sand was still pushing against her wind defense, but Seki could not hold it much longer as more sand poured out of the gourd and added to the pressure. Seki clenched her other hand and struggled to keep her shield steady, but within seconds, it was broken and sand engulfed her as Gaara willed it to confine Seki in a cocoon of sand, similar to the one she saw just minutes ago, crushing an innocent man to death.

"Who are you?"

Seki looked down and tried to raise an eyebrow while gasping for air. Doesn't he remember me?

"Seki, Seki Raion. The girl from this afternoon."

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," Seki choked as the sand squeezed even harder.

"You're lying."

"No, I..."

"You were trying to kill me, like the others."

"No, I... I'm not. I was... I was just passing by, god dammit!" Seki blurted out. Gaara's eyes narrowed. After a while, he released the sand's grip on her and let Seki drop to the ground, coughing for air. As he turned around to leave, Seki reached out a hand and scratched out, "Wait..."

Gaara stopped and waited for Seki to catch her breath. Seki braced her hands on her knees and looked up at the red head.

"What did you, 'like the others'?" Gaara didn't reply and started to walk again. Seki frowned, and ran up to him. "Hey! I was talki..." A sand barrier shot up to prevent her from grabbing Gaara's shoulders. Gaara turned his head and focused his teal eyes on her own red ones. He couldn't see it, the same look everyone in the village gave him.

The same fear.

"What?" Gaara asked. Seki blinked twice and let her hand drop to her side.

"What did you mean by 'others'? Are people trying to kill you?"

"Yes," was his short reply and he started to walk away again. Seki caught up with him and, taking care not to touch him in case the sand shot up again, asked, "Why? You were..."

Gaara jumped up to the roof top, and headed towards the tallest building in Sunagakure – the Kazekage office – with Seki following closely behind. Gaara turned his head so that he could just see Seki's wild brown-and-orange hair behind him. If he was surprised at how she could keep up with his speed, he didn't show it.

They finally arrived at the Kazekage office roof top, and Seki had to catch her breath again as Gaara went to sit at the end.

Chikushou! He looks younger than me, but that was some wicked speed.

Seki slowly walked over to Gaara and sat beside him, this time his surprise showed on his face. Seki didn't notice though as she was still trying to get Gaara to answer her questions.

"Why do people want to kill you?"

"Because they hate me."

"Why? You were amazing back there," this time Gaara's expression turned into shock and he faced the girl beside him. The light from the moon made her hair look lighter, the blend of brown and orange turning slightly dark red, like her eyes. Seki felt his stares and turned to meet them. She saw disbelief and shock, grinned and turned back to face the village.

"You were. I wasn't horrified or anything. It's amazing how you can control the sand at will, and it even protects you without you knowing."

"..."

"I can control air, but I still need to activate my shield before it can protect me."

"Air?"

Seki looked at Gaara, surprised he had answered back. His eyes no longer held any intention of killing, so she smiled and opened her palm in front of him. After a few moments, the two of them could see wind circling the top of her palm like a halo.

"I can embed chakra into the air and create wind, since wind is moving air. I can also solidify it so that we can see it. It's my bloodline limit," Seki finished and turned the halo into a cat, which skipped on the roof top before disappearing. Seki locked her arms around her knees and placed her head on top of them. "But yours seem much better, plus you can control it so well."

"It's not my bloodline limit," came Gaara's reply. Seki turned her head and looked at him, puzzled. "It's not?"

Shaking his head slightly, Gaara looked away from Seki and the village. Seki waited for him to explain, but nothing came out. She wondered if this was personal and looked back at the village. The full moon shone, illuminating the roof tops of the many houses in a ghostly white. It was an eerie silence, but Seki felt calm. This must be the peace Keimyou wanted, she thought to herself.

-

She had to say something.

"I was hated too, by the people of my tribe," Gaara took a sideways glance at the girl beside him. Her orange top seemed to glow, along with the cat design on her pant leg. He resumed staring into the distance in front of him, as Seki continued, "I hardly had friends, and never stayed at one place too long because people would chase me away."

Silence.

"I was unwanted, unloved, my own family killed. But no matter what, I wanted to be a shinobi, so that people would see that I could be good."

Gaara slowly lowered his head. Seki's hands were shaking slightly, her voice barely above a whisper, "No one gave me a chance, though. Discriminated and shunned, even though I was a child."

"So was I, but I don't really have a choice to become good."

"Why not?" Seki asked, secretly feeling glad he had made some response. Gaara's head was still lowered, his hair falling down and covering his expressions.

"If you kill people, even those who try to assassinate you, how can people accept you?"

Seki kept quiet, his question startling her. Assassinate? But he's a shinobi! His powers should be used to protect this village. Why would they want to kill him?

His powers might be the reason.

What do you mean?

Oh, you're alright with the annoying voice now?

... Just answer me.

Well, so much for being nice. He could be viewed as a threat, if his powers are so strong.

A threat? You mean by the way...

Seki recalled the way he killed that man in the alley, so quick, and nearly terrifying. But Seki didn't feel that emotion. No, she couldn't even if she wanted to. She muttered to herself, "If you're protecting yourself, they should understand."

"My existence is nothing to them, and they are nothing to me."

Seki turned her head as Gaara stood up, about to leave. Raising her hand to grab him, another hand made of sand shot from his gourd to stop her. Dropping it, Seki stared at Gaara.

"Why?"

Gaara took a glimpse at her ruby colored eyes. They seemed to see through his frightening exterior, his mask of hatred. He turned away and made to leap off the roof top they had unconsciously stayed on for almost an hour.

"I'm a demon they want to get rid of."

With that, Gaara took a leap and disappeared into the night. Seki stayed on the roof top until sunrise, not feeling particularly tired as she headed back to Keimyou's house. She mulled over the reply she would've given Gaara if he hadn't left so quickly.

Same here, she thought.

Same here.

-

A/N: This was a harder chapter to write since I didn't know how to portray a conversation between two loners. I hope it was good enough to keep you waiting for the next chapter. Also, as Seki is my own character, so is her clan. This is all fiction, although I am trying to follow the Naruto time line.

Seki (short for Houseki) – Jewel, gem
Raion - Lion
Keimyou – Witty, clever
Iwashi – 'i' for greatness, 'washi' for eagle
Enzeru – Angel

Sabaku Sousou – Desert Funeral
Kaze no Tate – Shield of Wind

About Raion clan:
The Raion buzoku is a clan that lives in the Land of Wind, but not in Sunagakure as not every member of their family is a Shinobi. They have a bloodline limit that controls air and also have an affinity with cat family, as evidence from their name. Their ancestors were similar to that of the Inuzuka clan, but they had cats as their fighting partners instead of dogs. Their cats however, were summoned from special scrolls that belonged only to the Raion clan. The common traits of members from the Raion clan are their red eyes and cat like agility.

About Raion's bloodline limit / kekkei genkai:
The Raion's bloodline limit is the ability to embed chakra in the air and use it for the person's needs, without wasting huge amounts of chakra. They can solidify it to make a barrier, or create wind for attacking.

Once again, if I owned Naruto, it would be filled with Gaara.