Disclaimer; No, I don't own Gaara, or any other character or place in Kishimoto's magical mind. This is an AU, obviously, so yeah. Yay, chapter three!

Warning! This. Contains. Yaoi. Not this chapter, explicitly, but this story in general. Swearing, mature themes and other such are going through it too, without me knowing . GaaLee, NaruSasu and more.

Chapter Three

"The Shukaku"

It had been four years since Gaara last visited the mental hospital in Suna. Kankuro and Temari had been taking him there, ever since he was little. From his birth, Gaara had a strange condition, which no one could understand. The doctors called it schizophrenia. Gaara called it Shukaku. The symptoms were unrecognizable, and the doctors who didn't say Gaara was skitzophrenic, said he was just cursed; he had a perpetual darkness around his eyes, which appeared as a bruise, or as though he hadn't slept, and two personalities. One was his normal condition. When he was young, it had been as any normal child, though he was lonely and neglected because of his condition. When he was older, he became cold and distant from everyone, even his siblings. The other, in which he became insanely violent and found death and blood spill hysterical, was Shukaku, Gaara told them. The blood-craving demon. Gaara carried a knife everywhere with him, and had incredible reflexes, making him practically impossible to hit, and was dangerously violent when provoked. Even grown men feared him.

Eventually, the split personality faded away, though the bruises, pale skin, and the perpetual calm, mysterious air about the Suna teen did not. Gaara continued to carry a knife, and continued to be hated, and hated them in return. When he was young, he'd taken up his trusty knife and carved the kanji of love into his forehead, declaring, from that moment on, to love only himself, and fight only for himself.

The second day in a row that Lee insisted on sitting by him for breakfast confused and irritated him. Friendship, he considered ridiculous, and had only began even treating his siblings as anything but strangers to be despised and mistrusted a few years back.

"So you're not going home anymore, hm? I heard the flights to Suna were cancelled." Lee insisted so painfully on making conversation that Gaara wanted to smack him, but resisted, for some reason. Maybe he was scared to touch those eyebrows?

"No." Gaara stated tiredly, his chin resting on one hand. Breakfast was eggs and toast, this morning. Very unoriginal, Gaara decided, for the first time ever, more interested in his food than anything else.

"Oh, that's good! I'm not going home either, we can hang out some!" Lee declared happily, stuffing toast into his bizarrely large mouth and chewing loudly.

Gaara's eyes widened, and his jaw clenched. Kill. Kill. He wanted to kill and mutilate everyone in the school for a moment. He'd long learnt to control this, and the feeling soon passed, and his expressionless demeanor returned. "Oh, yay." He uttered hopelessly, staring at Lee's face emotionlessly.

Lee grinned obliviously, toast crumbs stuck to his face. "You know, Gaara-kun, you're not as bad as everyone thinks. I like you." He told Gaara earnestly.

Gaara's eyes, which had been staring at his own breakfast absently, swiveled up to look Lee square in the eye. "You like me?" Gaara repeated incredulously, staring deep into those round, excitable eyes. His closest friend, other than his siblings (which could hardly be called that; more acquaintances, which he liked to talk to every now and then), was Naruto; and he didn't even like the boy half the time.

Lee nodded honestly, smiling. "You are nice, and you reply to everything I say," Lee's face fell a little, and Gaara felt his heart give the faintest twang of guilt, "Not many people listen to me, you know."

"Oh?" Gaara asked, sitting up and paying a little more attention, "You've got some friends though, right?" He shouldn't have cared; he really should not have cared. Love only yourself! He reminded himself cruelly, but it was suddenly much more difficult than he remembered.

Lee shrugged sadly, crumbs still littering his round face. "A few, but they don't like to talk to me for very long. Sakura-chan is nice, so is Naruto-kun…but my other friends get annoyed with me fast, and some ignore me altogether."

Gaara wanted to get up and leave. He could feel the painful bonds of sympathy winding their way towards the tall, loud boy across from him. He begged himself to not say anything else, to not get involved. "I know…exactly how that feels. But, it is usually fear that prevents people from wanting to talk to me. People fear me. Don't you?" Gaara suddenly recalled where he'd first seen the boy with the funny haircut. This was the boy he'd nearly killed, all those years ago, in the school's Representing Team selections! The boy who he'd broken his arm and leg, and put him out of action for the rest of the selections. He remembered nearly killing him, when the boy's sensei had jumped in and called everything off. So, why hadn't he mentioned it? And why was he sitting with him now, calmly talking to him, telling him he wanted to hang out? Gaara felt his heart and head throb simultaneously with confusion.

Lee had been staring downward; cheeks flushed red and shoulders squared. "I don't. I think you're just like everyone else; just misunderstood."

That hit a chord. Gaara's hand sprung up to his chest and clutched tightly at his heart. His other hand snaked its way up the side of his head, clutching at his hair and skull, bowed over, body shivering. He didn't understand, and it hurt.

Lee, looking worried, reached out to touch Gaara's hand, frowning nervously. "Gaara-?" His voice was cut off with a yelp as Gaara's lightning reflexes caused a hand to whip up and grab the other boy's wrist tight. Lee's eyes widened a little, making them rounder than ever, as Gaara turned his head slowly up to look Lee dead in the eye, with those dark, foreboding eyes of his.

"M-misunderstood?" Gaara's voice trembled, with every syllable, "Y-you think I-I'm…" He couldn't say it, he really couldn't. Not without reverting to Shukaku for the first time in years, and slaughtering everyone, save the boy in front of him; with those round, caring eyes. He cared. WHY!?

Lee nodded slowly, concern etched into his entire figure. He was upset and worried about his friend, wanting to comfort him desperately. It seemed, though, no matter what he did, Gaara became more angry and shaky. "I do. Everyone else tried to stop me hanging out with you, but that's stupid. I want to be your friend."

Gaara froze; his eyes, which had been darting back and forth a moment ago, snapped back to Lee's face. "My friend," He breathed, staring deep into Lee's eyes. This boy, whom, a moment ago had been so boring Gaara wanted to hang himself, had suddenly become the most interesting person Gaara had ever met. His friend, his only friend?

Lee nodded again, quicker this time, smiling. "Yeah, Gaara-kun!" He declared, "So, we're gonna hang out at Christmas, hm? I'll buy you a present!" He grinned, at last wiping the toast crumbs from his face and taking another bite of his breakfast, chewing loudly.

Before Gaara could nod, he felt a familiar hand clap his back, and he lurched forward, teeth grit. Without turning around, the dark-eyed boy hissed through his teeth, "Kankuro,"

"Hey, bro!" Was Kankuro's irritatingly happy reply, as he took a seat beside his brother, snatching up some toast off Gaara's plate and munching on it happily. "What's doing?"

"Nothing." Gaara said plainly, all interest and expression that the strange boy sitting across from him had kindled vanishing.

Kankuro, chewing obnoxiously on his stolen toast, noted Lee. He gestured with his toast to the boy and asked, with a mouthful, "Who's 'at?"

"Lee," Gaara said, blinking tiredly. "He is my friend."

Kankuro stopped chewing, and his eyes widened. "Lee." He stared incredulously at the boy with the stupid haircut, and even stupider eyebrows. No one had ever wanted to be Gaara's friend, aside from the loudmouthed knucklehead, Naruto; and he could barely be called a friend. In all honesty, he didn't want Gaara to have another friend. Friends were dangerous. Friends made Gaara start thinking about everything he'd ever missed out on in his life, and made him confused and angry. As ugly and stupid as this kid was, he didn't want him dead.

Gaara peered at Lee, still rolling the concept of the boy's friendship over in his head. The words sounded okay to him in his head, and sounded okay out loud. "Yes," He informed Kankuro, "Now go away." He wanted to spend time with…with his friend.

(Yay, the third chapter is up! Kankuro loves reveiws.

THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVEIWERS! I love you all! Those fabulous comments spurred me to make this chapter so much faster, to please you all. Next chapter soon!)