Nothing to say other than it's the second chapter, I guess.

Gaara's POV

"Did–did you just say I was your – I mean you don't mean – " I stuttered. What?

"Do you believe in reincarnation, Gaara-san? I and the people of Miri believe that our dead continue life in the living. They think that we do not start a completely new life, but live on in one already born. I mean only that my father's spirit has now settled in you. I now know that it was the right choice to come to Suna, respecting the final request of Yoshihisa." That made more sense, though I didn't fully believe in reincarnation. I smiled at her. She was sane after all.

It seemed there was a smile tugging on the edges of her lips, but she didn't grin back…actually, she frowned. Ju turned away from me and began to walk away. On her left step, it looked as if she was trying to hide a limp. She was headed towards the crevice that I had seen her come through. Had I upset her by smiling? Was she angry now?

"Where're you going?" I asked, when she was halfway to the tunnel. She stopped.

"I am not going anywhere away from Suna. I only wait for my next affray to begin." Once her sentence had ended, many ninjas began to run from the small crack in the wall. Were all of these people trying to harm her? I wouldn't let it happen. This girl was not threatening me, even though she told me she was an assassin. My father taught me many powerful jutsus. I always trained to perfect my maneuvering of the sand. I would put it to the test now.

I waited for them to become confident that they could get to her, then, all at the same time, I had the sand grab and pull on the men. They were all dragged beneath the scorching desert sand, where I crushed the life out of each one. They wouldn't harm this girl, the only one that promised never to run.

She returned her gaze to me, and I saw what seemed to be annoyance in her black eyes. It reminded me of Temari, when she got really angry at Kankuro.

"Why did you do that? I could have just as easily defeated them," she said sternly. She muttered something else that I couldn't hear. I didn't answer.

"Why?" Ju asked. A trace of annoyance still in her voice. Maybe I should've let her handle it like she said she could. "Do you think I am not powerful enough?"

"Is this what friends do? Help them when them are in trouble?" This time, it was Ju's turn not to answer.

She walked over, and the limp was less hidden, but it didn't seem like she wanted me to bother with it. Ju leaned on one of the wooden posts of the old swing set, and we talked. She didn't look excited when we were talking about jutsus or other topics, but I heard it in her voice that she was pleased.

xXx*xXx

A few days after met Ju-chan, I, after she left the park, wondered something. Where did she stay at night? Did Ju-chan come with another family member? After sunset came close, she always said she had to leave. I noticed that she always went towards the same tunnel that was her entrance to Suna before, but somehow the crack was filled in. When she left, she would start walking toward where the crack used to be, then disappear.

At first, I thought that there was a rock or something else in front of a different hole, but there wasn't. Everyday, I would try to follow, with my eyes, but she always vanished. This time, I was going to see if I found her from the top of Suna's wall. Maybe she stayed somewhere outside Suna, but close.

I lifted a layer of sand, and "floated" over the wall. I saw the speck of black that was her. I was too far away to see anything clearly, but when I tried looking closer, I saw a small brown bubble. Ju-chan when into it, or the bubble went over her.

I let my sand carry me close to the spot. The brown bubble was made of sand. It looked like my shield did whenever it came up. Was she trapped? I wondered if I could use my powers to open it. I was about to break the bubble, when I heard her voice.

"Did you follow me here, Monster?" I froze. I thought she was my friend…but then she called me monster. I clutched my teddy bear tightly. Who else was there out here? Night was coming, and everyone went inside to keep warm when the sun went down. It could only be me she was talking to.

"With your powers, I suppose it wouldn't have been difficult…but you should not be here. Did you see anyone else on your way here? Perhaps it would be best if you went back to the village." She stopped between each sentence, like she was expecting me to answer. I couldn't talk. I was in shock, so she continued.

"They're still hunting me, you know. They might be following you, Monster. They know I associated with you." I didn't stay to here the rest, but I ran away from her. The brown bubble grew farther and farther away. I lifted myself with the sand, and was about to go to the other side of the wall, when I heard her scream. It wasn't really loud and high like I heard other girls scream when they were playing ball, but it was still a scream.

I looked back and saw the broken bubble. Around it, was a large group of ninjas. Some were from the same villages as before. I could tell from the color of their clothes. There were more than before, and I stopped and wondered if I should help. Ju-chan didn't like me anymore. She called me a monster. I wasn't sure what to do, so I watched.

She bent down, and ran right through the men. I saw the black speck running in a zigzag, dodging something I couldn't see. She seemed faster than anyone I'd ever seen. I thought it must be that she was trained taijutsu by her sensei. She got closer and closer the wall, then I could only see the top of Ju-chan's head. She spun in a circle, and something shot towards the ninjas, in the shape of a crescent, that I could only explain as solid air, or ice from nothing.

Ju-chan hit most of the men, but when she stopped, she was hit by the something I couldn't see. Ju-chan fell, and a cloud of sand rose around her. Steam or smoke came up from somewhere between her right elbow and wrist. The ones she had hit started to stand up and were coming forward. I was hurt that she thought I was a monster, but I didn't want her to die, either, so I decided to help. Just before I did though, Ju-chan stood, and something white started forming around her. I wasn't a sensory type, but I knew it was something powerful. What's happening? I thought worriedly. It was like a mist surrounding her. My bear hung loosely at my side, as I stood on top of the wall.

xXx*xXx

She raised both arms up, and the mist formed a ball in her hands. It glowed with a light that seemed as bright as a small sun, before being thrown in the center of the group of ninjas. It was a technique I hadn't seen before. I saw it happen in slow motion: the ball of light gliding through the many men, the ripple of the sand just before the explosion, the black shadows of the ninjas in front of the light slowly disappearing in white. It was a silent sound wave. Heat rushed to the peak of the wall I was on, and it felt like the middle of the afternoon. I didn't think anyone could survive it, so what happened to Ju-chan? The heat vanished almost right away, and, when it did, the sand carried me down to her. She had protected herself from the blast, and was standing up, but when I got down there, she fell. her arm still had steam rising slowly from it. I wondered what hit her.

When I got to the ground, I thought it was harder than usual, looking down, I found that there was a large patch of glass made from the heat of the blast she made.

I knelt down, and rolled the sleeve up, to see how badly she was hurt. It was an awful sight, and I realized why she had long sleeved shirts and never rolled them up, even when the sun was at its highest point. On her arm were many scars and cuts. I didn't know what pain felt like, but most people looked like they didn't enjoy it. I wondered how she handled these marks. I saw some of the other kids fall, and scrape their knees or hands, but I hadn't seen something like this. Her eyes opened, but only slightly, as she whispered coarsely, "I wish you did not see that, Gaara-kun. You should not have to watch me when I do my work, nor what consequences I sometimes face." She slowly lifted her right hand to pull the sleeve back down, then, just as slowly, she stood up. Her eyes opened all the way, the full moon reflected against the black if her eyes. I didn't think anyone could survive that. It was quick, but it was also a very powerful attack. It seemed like anyone, as close as Ju-chan was, should've been burned. I was happy that she survived though.

I lifted a layer of sand to carry us over the wall, but I let go when I heard a quiet sound. It was high pitched and soft.

"What was that?" I asked Ju-chan.

Her answer was a question. "Do you want to see Monster, Gaara-kun?" Did that mean that it wasn't me she was talking to? Was it possible that she didn't know I was there?

She took my hand and lead me to a different part of the wall. With her free hand, she held it a few inches away from the wall. We walked a few yards until a small cross appeared. I hadn't seen it before, and it was like it just scratched itself out of the sandstone. When Ju-chan put her hand closer to it, I thought she was going to make a hand sign, but she didn't. I watched closely, and her hand went through it. She still had my hand in hers, and I almost didn't want to go in. I thought that even though Ju-chan made it through, I might bang right into the wall. I closed my eyes a walked forward with Ju-chan's hand leading me. The hit never came.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a small cat in Ju-chan's scarf. It was hard to see, because night had fallen, and its fur was dark like her scarf, but I could see it. Looking back, it was like the wall wasn't there anymore. When I looked past her, I could see the edge of the park. Was this a genjutsu?

"Gaara-kun, meet Monster. He followed me here," she said quietly. She was talking to the cat when I thought she called me a monster, I thought with relief. I was happy that Ju-chan didn't think I was a monster, but now I was angry at whoever made those marks on her arm. She was nice to me, and she was nice to the cat. Who would want to hurt her?

"Why is he called Monster?" I asked.

"He was born as a ninja cat, but he is more than that. When he was a kitten, I gave him my chakra. I am not allowed to have pets, so they tried to take him away. I knew I couldn't take him on all of my missions and protect him, so I gave him my chakra so he could overpower even the ninjas…or run if he had to." I looked closely at the cat. Monster was still a kitten. Even with Ju-chan's chakra, it didn't seem like this one cat could beat a ninja, or out run a ninja. Ju-chan continued, "When I have to travel without people noticing him, he goes into this form. It has been two years since I gave him my chakra, and he has much experience." She whispered something to the kitten, then it jumped out of Ju-chan's scarf and a small smoke cloud came over it. It looked full grown in a few seconds. I didn't think it was possible.

"How did it do that?" I was starting to get more and more questions by the second.

"It is only the simple transformation jutsu, nothing great. He does it all the time." The cat can do ninja arts? I wondered to myself.

"When you fell over, when those people came and attacked you, were you hit with something that you arm is like that?" Ju-chan looked up from petting Monster, but quickly looked back down, again.

"No…I just tripped." I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get anything more than that as an answer. I sighed slowly. Didn't she trust me?

"Do you want Yashamaru to heal it? He's my uncle," I said.

"I know," she made a quiet sound. It was almost like a small gasp. How did she know Yashamaru was my uncle? I don't think I ever told her about him.

"How did…how did you know that?" I asked.

"Remember the first day I came here? You told me that I had just come here that day, then you asked how I could know anything about you. I know more about you than you think…much more." She sat down on a small stone, and worked on something I couldn't see. When she took her hands away, a bright little flame had sparked on the ground, but I don't know what it was burning. Following Ju-chan, I sat down cross-legged, setting my bear in my lap. When Ju-chan had started making the flame, the cat had walked away. I looked around, and saw its tail behind me. What was it doing? The cat went around me, and looked at Ju-chan. It seemed like there was something happening that I didn't understand.

"What do you mean? What do you know?" I asked. She moved a bit and uncrossed her legs, pulling her knees up to her chest. Monster went and sat close to her.

"I will tell only the simple things. There are the usual facts, about your birthday on January nineteenth. Or for instance, most children do not understand that you never sleep. I am most certain that many of them are unaware of the demon within you, and only fear you because they see their parents and siblings their elder act so. A vast majority of the generation sees only that you are powerful, and have the capability to kill. They blame minorities of the smallest nature on the ones with the most strength. This is how I think they view you, but I judge only on the looks of distaste that follow us, wherever we go," her voice got quieter every sentence. It made her sound like she was talking to herself.

"They do not understand anything. They see nothing." Her voice lost the girl sound, and became lower and darker. The air in the small tunnel we were in felt different Ju-chan put her hands to the sides of her head and moaned. Her eyes were shut tight, and then a faint string of blue light came out. It attached Ju-chan to Monster. What was the cat doing? Was it hurting her? The whole time, she made sounds that sounded like she was hurt. I wanted to help, but when I tried touched Ju-chan, I was…something. It didn't feel good, and I knew I couldn't touch her with my hand, but I thought maybe I could with the sand. For some reason, I thought I should try to break the string of light, with a rope of sand, I tried to cut off the light, but it moved around and wouldn't let the sand touch it.

After a minute or two, the light disappeared, and Ju-chan let her head go. She blinked and looked at Monster. She let out a sigh, and for the first time, she smiled. How could she be happy that the cat was hurting her? I didn't understand. "What happened, Ju-chan?" I asked.

"It is nothing. It gets stronger sometimes, and Monster must take its power away." Its? What is the it? I wondered.

"Are you sure? Maybe one of the medical ninjas can help," I said hopefully. I thought that the thing that hurt her could be healed like how Yashamaru heals people.

"No medical ninja can help me."

Yay for being done with the second chapter! Sort of bad ending though...