A/N: You people are so awesome! My inbox is as happy as Naruto after having ramen at Ichiraku's.
Chapter Three: The Impenetrable Shield Crumbles and Zoro's Vow
000
"I'm glad I'm traveling with you, Zoro-nii."
"Get some sleep, brat."
Zoro ruffled Naruto's hair, his amused grin hidden in the shadows of his head wrap. Of all the little kids he could possibly get stuck with, Zoro found that he didn't really mind Naruto.
000
In all honesty, Suna wasn't much to look at. The buildings were made out of stone, and pretty much blended into the environment. Anyone else would have appreciated the simple yet amazing beauty of the early evening sun reflecting off of the desert sands and the way the buildings almost glowed like soft torchlight. But Zoro wasn't like the average person, and for him to admire any scenery whatsoever, it would have to be pretty damn impressive.
One of the sentries recognized Zoro, and easily waved him and Naruto through, although the various Suna ANBU patrolling the village kept an eye on them from a distance. The reason for Naruto not having any kind of ID wasn't really questioned; after all, there were numerous orphans throughout the Elemental Nations. Naruto clearly wasn't a Ninja, and Zoro randomly taking in a stray apparently wasn't all that surprising; it seemed that many people did that sort of thing.
Naruto looked at everything in with wide-eyed fascination. The people here wore duller colors and form-fitting-yet-still-loose clothes. They also had much harsher expressions.
Saying goodbye to the merchants, Zoro and Naruto had to wait for a few minutes for an ANBU to come escort them to the Kazekage's office. A woman appeared in a puff of smoke, and she only nodded to the guards.
"Puma, please escort Roronoa and the kid to see the Kazekage."
'Puma' only nodded, and simply motioned with her hand indicating that Zoro should follow. Naruto kept a tight grip on Zoro's shirt, making sure that he didn't wander. Naruto grumbled when he kicked up sand and some of it got in his shoe.
As they neared the Kazekage's tower, Naruto began to feel an odd sort of pull in his gut. It didn't hurt, slightly tingled; sort of like a pins-and-needles feeling. It was a sensation he had never felt before, and he wasn't sure if he should be worried about it or not. Should he say something to Zoro? But before Naruto could voice any sort of concern, they stopped outside of the tower.
"Stay out here." Zoro instructed. He pointed at a bench outside of the building. "Look, a nice bench where you can take a nap."
"Huh? But why?" Naruto asked with a borderline whine.
"Because I said so, brat." Zoro replied, crossing his arms and scowling.
Naruto answered back with his own scowl, before plopping down on the bench and crossing his arms with a huff.
In all honesty, Zoro didn't like Rasa. It was one thing to ask questions about Naruto, it was another to talk to him. There were aspects of Rasa's attitude that made Zoro wary. It was another one of those things that he couldn't really put his finger on. He and Rasa got along well-enough, but it was more out of mutual agreement than actual friendliness.
Puma took hold of Zoro's arm, mostly because Suna-nin were more cautious of outsiders than their Konoha counterparts. Zoro had been very lucky during his first visit to Suna, and hadn't gotten lost anywhere that would have warranted a kunai to the back. Zoro simply walked with Puma, not saying anything else.
000
Naruto continued pouting and muttering to himself about the unfairness of it all, expertly glaring at his shoes. The sand felt coarse and irritating in his shoes. He decided that he hated sand, and only stopped in his mutterings when he felt eyes on him. Glancing up, Naruto saw a boy around his age watching him warily from the side of a building across the road from the office. The boy had red hair and panda-eyes, and clung tightly to a large, old-looking teddy bear. For some reason he couldn't name, Naruto felt compelled to approach the other boy.
Naruto grinned at the other boy. "Hi!"
The odd boy flinched somewhat, and then looked behind himself as if he were making sure that no-one was behind him. Looking back to Naruto, he asked quietly, "A-are…are y-you talking to me?"
"O'course, I am!" Naruto briefly glanced at the entrance to the Kazekage tower before getting up and jogging towards the only interesting person he had seen since arriving in Suna. Again, the odd boy flinched back slightly when Naruto had gotten within three feet of him. Naruto frowned. "Why're you so jumpy? I just wanna talk."
The other boy wouldn't look at him, and only shrugged weakly. Looking up at Naruto, he asked, "You want to talk to me?"
"Well, yeah, I'm doin' it right now, aren't I? I'm Naruto. What's your name?"
"Gaara."
"Nice to meet you, Gaara!" Naruto said with his soon to be classic foxy grin. "I'm here with my brother, Zoro. He's turning in a few bounties. Zoro-nii's a swordsman, and he's awesome! Well, I've never actually seen him really fight yet to be honest. But he's really cool, Dattebayo!"
Gaara stared at Naruto almost incredulously, because no-one ever had spoken to him so willingly – well, there was his uncle, Yashamaru. But he was family, so perhaps there was a requirement of some kind. Well…that didn't really explain his father. Perhaps there was some kind of exception?
"What's it like living in the desert?" Naruto asked.
"…I don't know?" Gaara answered uncertainly, as he fiddled with one of the bear's worn ears. "I've never lived anywhere else, so I don't know what living anywhere else is like."
"Makes sense." Naruto grinned again. "Do you wanna play a game? You've gotta have some kinda game."
Gaara couldn't help but question why this stranger wanted to play him, but since Naruto was the only other child willing to do so, he wouldn't complain. So he only nodded, and said, "I'll be right back."
Gaara quickly ran a few houses down and came back with a red ball in his hands in place of the bear a few minutes later. He hesitantly held it out to Naruto. "Um, the other village children play ball, or something. I haven't played much, so I'm not very good."
"That's alright!" Naruto said. "We can play while we wait for my brother."
The little game started simple enough, with Gaara and Naruto kicking the ball back and forth to each other. Oblivious to the wary stares of the adults who were heading home for the day, the game started to heat up due to Naruto's competitive streak. With a shout of effort, Naruto kicked the ball as hard as he could. Gaara wasn't prepared to catch the ball at the speed it was careening towards him. The ball hurtled towards Gaara's face, but just before it could make contact which would very likely result in a broken nose, a wall of sand shot up in front of Gaara and stopped the ball.
Naruto gaped. "How did you…?"
"I…it's…" Gaara started, feeling slight panic beginning to build. This was what always terrified the other children. Naruto wouldn't want to…
"That's amazing, Dattebayo! How did you do that? Does it happen all the time?"
"Y-yeah…I can't help it…" Gaara mumbled.
"Cool. Okay." Naruto said simply. He picked up the ball again and threw it at an unsuspecting Gaara. The wall of sand shot up again, and Naruto smirked. "That's kinda cool."
Gaara couldn't help but scowl at Naruto, but he wasn't angry. No-one had ever called his shield "cool," before. It was just more in mild irritation. It was an odd thing for Gaara, who did not fully understand Naruto.
"Let's keep going!"
Naruto and Gaara resumed their positions, and continued hitting the ball back and forth. The ball sailed between them a few more times, before a powerful kick from Naruto caused the ball to overshoot Gaara, who quickly moved to catch it. Gaara reached out for the ball, his sand responding to his unwitting will. His sand wrapped around the ball and effectively crushed it. A muffled *POP!* sounded from Gaara's sand.
As the sand fell away, Gaara stared at the popped ball, and guiltily glanced over at Naruto who was staring at the now useless ball.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't…" Gaara started, but he stopped when Naruto started laughing.
"You popped it!" Naruto said through his laughter. "Jus' like a pimple!"
Gaara stared wide-eyed at Naruto, completely perplexed. The other boy still wasn't scared of him…
"Naruto." Another voice interrupted Naruto's laughter.
The two boys turned to Zoro, who had an irritated scowl on his face.
"Zoro-nii, this is Gaara!" Naruto happily introduced. "He has this awesome sand shield thing, it's pretty cool, Dattebayo!" Turning back to Gaara, Naruto continued, "This is Zoro, my brother. You should show him that sand thing you just did. You should also see him lift his weights. They can crack the ground, ya'know."
Gaara uneasily glanced up at Zoro, who still had that scowl on his face. Maybe Zoro didn't like that he had been playing with Naruto… Gaara shifted uneasily.
"Come here, both of you." Zoro jerked his head in the indicated direction, and led them over to an inconspicuous spot in between two of the buildings.
Zoro squatted down so that he was eye-level with Gaara. "So you're Gaara, huh?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Your old man told me about you." Zoro didn't look happy about what he had heard. "Kid, has anyone ever come after you before? Like trying to kill you?"
Gaara immediately looked uncomfortable. But he finally responded after a few silent moments. "Ten times over the last four years... But my sand has always protected me…why?"
Zoro's frown deepened. "He hired me to kill you."
Gaara's eyes widened in fear, and he took a step back while Naruto grabbed Zoro's shirt. "Zoro, you can't! He's my friend!"
"I didn't say that I was going to, brat." Zoro said, giving Naruto a light flick on the forehead with a finger. "Gaara, listen. You shouldn't stay here. Even if this sand shield thing you have protects you, you shouldn't have to deal with attacks and f**king idiots getting themselves killed. You're the one who has to live with the result of their idiocy."
"Father wouldn't do that…" Gaara started, but couldn't finish because he started hyperventilating. Zoro reached out, but a wall of sand stopped him before he even got within inches of Gaara. "He wouldn't…"
Zoro blinked. No way… Gaara had that same dark energy Naruto did, but it felt much more chaotic. Sort of like it was less contained. Well, that certainly explained things, but it didn't excuse Rasa being an a**hole.
"Calm down and breathe, Gaara." Zoro slowly pulled away, not wanting Gaara to have a crazy reaction of some kind to physical contact.
"Gaara, it's alright!" Naruto whispered harshly.
He didn't really understand it himself, but something kept drawing him to the other boy. Naruto could feel an almost unhinged sort of energy radiating from Gaara. Plus, there was the fact that he already considered Gaara a friend.
"Calm down, raccoon-brat. No one's going to hurt you." Zoro brusquely stated. "We're just talking, got it?"
Perhaps it was because no-one had ever called him 'raccoon-brat', Gaara slowly came back to his senses as the sand fell away. Although he had to wonder at the name 'raccoon-brat', Gaara looked as if the entire misery of the Elemental Nations had befallen him. Not saying a word, Gaara looked up at Zoro. Zoro's scowl wasn't as prominent now.
"Look, how about you come with us?" Zoro suggested somewhat awkwardly after a moment. "I'll understand if you don't want to, but a brat like yourself shouldn't have to live in a place where their own parent puts a target on their backs."
Naruto beamed up at Zoro, then turned to Gaara. "You should come with us. It'll be great; you won't have to put up with all this stupid sand." Naruto then paused for a moment when he remembered Gaara's sand shield. "Or at least, you'll be able to see trees, grass and stuff like that."
"But why?" Gaara looked up at Zoro. The boy didn't, couldn't believe Zoro. "Why would father do that?"
Again, Zoro wished for some kind of alcohol to go along with the course of this conversation. He didn't want to tell Gaara what his old man really thought of him. Damn these Shinobi!
"Well…you're like a sheathed sword, except it doesn't stay sheathed like it should…" Zoro stumbled through his explanation. Talking to Naruto had been easier. Meanwhile, Naruto began glancing from Zoro to Gaara, remembering having a conversation very similar to the one they were having with Gaara. "I mean…I personally think the sheath is safe, but your old man doesn't…"
Gaara furrowed invisible eyebrows, not really understanding what Zoro was trying to say.
"Do you have a monster in you too?" Naruto suddenly asked in a low whisper.
Wincing at Naruto's question, Gaara hesitated before answering, "I-I don't know? People…people usually say that I'm the monster-"
"You're not a monster." Zoro said quickly. Ugh, he rubbed the back of his head, messing up his headwear in the process. Re-adjusting his headwear, Zoro sighed. "Look…we aren't sticking around here for long; we've gotta keep moving, but if you want to come with us, we'll be waiting outside the South Gate until one o'clock tonight."
Zoro pointed west, or at least the direction he thought south was in. Naruto hit Zoro's shoulder.
"Zoro-nii, that's north-west! South is that way!" Turning to Gaara, Naruto grinned. "We'll be waiting at the South Gate. Please come with us!" Naruto paused briefly for a moment before continuing, "I'm just like you, ya'know…I have a monster in me, too…but Zoro-nii saved me, and he'll save you too."
"I…I don't know…" Gaara wouldn't look at either of them. He had felt something he couldn't explain when he first saw Naruto; like he was drawn to him. Well…the quivering feeling in his stomach seemed anxious, and it was making him feel nauseous. It was like whatever was in him wanted to get out and wreak havoc, or something. "I…"
"Oh, Gaara, there you are." Gaara's uncle, Yashamaru suddenly appeared in the alleyway. He smiled at Zoro and Naruto. "I'm sorry to interrupt your game, but Gaara has to come home now. It's nearly dinnertime." Yashamaru motioned to his nephew. "Come along, Gaara."
Gaara slowly trudged towards his uncle about as enthusiastically as someone getting ready for a root canal.
"Thank you for taking care of my nephew."
"We'll see you later, won't we, Gaara?" Naruto called out hopefully.
While Gaara wouldn't look at him, Yashamaru smiled back at the pair and said, "We'll see."
000
The only choices Zoro and Naruto had for dinner was a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and Naruto was only disappointed because they didn't serve ramen. He'd have to be satisfied with the broth-and-potatoes stew. Zoro stuck with a simple fried rice dish, and he was able to get his sake fix as well.
Naruto ate his food slowly, and looked up at Zoro. "He'll come with us, right?"
Zoro shrugged. "Who knows."
Zoro frowned as he thought about his earlier conversation with Rasa.
***Flashback***
Puma took hold of Zoro's arm, mostly because Suna-nin were more cautious of outsiders than their Konoha counterparts. Zoro had been very lucky during his first visit to Suna, and hadn't gotten lost anywhere that would have warranted a kunai to the back. Zoro simply walked with Puma, not saying anything else.
Puma led Zoro up a flight of stairs, passed a few rooms with closed doors, up another flight of stairs, and then they entered into a large, circular office where the Kazekage, Rasa was standing with his back to them, looking out one of the windows. Puma released Zoro's arm, and obediently went to stand off to the side. Rasa, in full Kazekage uniform minus his hat turned slightly to face Zoro.
"Roronoa, it's been a while."
"Kazekage." Zoro gave a quick, last-minute bow, remembering his manners.
Turning back to look out the window, Rasa asked, "…So, which of my wayward Shinobi did you bring me?"
"I got three of 'em."
Zoro quickly pulled out a scroll and released the Seal. Three bodies appeared in a *POOF* of smoke, and that was only when Rasa turned to look at them. He frowned slightly as he studied their features. Yes, he recognized them; Kuri, Kana, and Reiji. They had been teammates, and all three were skilled in kenjutsu, which was a rarity in Suna. Suna-Shinobi were usually known for their highly potent poisons and puppets.
Sealing the bodies away once again, Zoro then placed the scroll on Rasa's desk. After handing Zoro his payment (which wasn't much, but it would have to do) Rasa glanced outside again, and then frowned. "Who is that boy talking with Gaara?"
Zoro looked outside, and saw that Naruto was enthusiastically talking to another boy with dark red hair.
"That's Naruto. I ended up with the brat." Smirking, Zoro added, "He's a little sh*t at times, but he's showing some promising skill as a kenjustu user."
"So young and you've already got an apprentice?"
Zoro ignored the 'so young' comment, but he did glare. And pouted, only a bit.
"As the boy's guardian, don't you think it's your responsibility to warn him against playing with monsters?"
"Huh? What do you mean, 'monsters?' What monsters?"
Rasa simply gave a nod of his head, and Zoro watched as Naruto and the boy whose name he had to guess was 'Gaara' began a game of some kind where they simply kicked a ball back and forth. There didn't seem to be any kind of rules to their game, other than trying to get the ball past each other.
"What monster? All I see is that red-hair kid…" Zoro's voice trailed off and his brows furrowed. "Why's he a monster?"
Rasa didn't answer, instead he asked, "You're a bounty hunter, aren't you? If I were to put a bounty on Gaara, what would your response be?"
"He's a f**king kid." Zoro bristled.
"And that's where you're wrong, Roronoa. Appearances can be so deceiving, can't they? Being someone who resides in the Shinobi world, you should know this to be a harsh and painful reality."
"I only go after kenjutsu users. I highly doubt that Gaara there is in any way skilled with a sword."
Rasa sent Zoro a glance he couldn't quite read. "How much would I have to pay you to eliminate him?"
Zoro couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "What about his parents?"
"Since my wife died giving birth to him, and as a failure for his intended purpose, I have nothing against disposing of Gaara. That thing isn't my son. I already have one son, and he is showing more than enough promise in his chosen field, along with my daughter."
Zoro almost unsheathed his sword out right then and there, but he knew that going against the Kazekage would be suicide. What would happen to Naruto? Or hell, even that Gaara kid. Instead, he tightly gripped Wado Ichimonji in his right hand and counted backwards from 100 by 3's.
"Gaara would also be very useful in improving your skills as a warrior." Rasa nodded. "Ah. Here's your chance to see just what you're up against."
Zoro watched as the ball sailed towards Gaara's face, who was obviously not prepared to catch it, when a wall of sand suddenly shot up, immediately stopping the ball. Zoro and Rasa watched in silence as Naruto threw the ball at Gaara again a minute or so later, clearly wanting to see the sand shield a second time. Their odd little game resumed for about five minutes longer when Naruto's competitiveness kicked in once again and he sent the ball flying over Gaara's head. Gaara turned to run after the ball, and as he reached a hand out for it, grains sand began to float and turn into tendrils that reached for the wayward ball. Upon reaching the ball, the sand ultimately wrapped around and crushed it. It was with morbid fascination that Zoro watched as the ball got popped.
Judging by Gaara's visible reaction, the action had been entirely unintentional. Between the two boys, Naruto found this absolutely hilarious, and his laughter could be heard even in the Kazekage's office.
"Would your student still find it so humorous if that were someone's head? It's happened before. Gaara is a failed experiment; he has no control over his abilities, and is better off eliminated. It's for the betterment and safety of the village overall."
"…But he's your son."
"As I've said, that thing you call 'my son' is nothing more than a monster."
Zoro's face was shadowed by his head wrap as he glared at the floor. "I'll do it."
"What?" Rasa was honestly surprised to hear Zoro agree, and wanted to be sure that he heard the teen right.
Zoro finally glanced up at Rasa. "I'll take care of him."
Rasa studied Zoro for a moment before replying, "…Very well. Bring me his head and I'll pay you your reward."
With that, Zoro turned to leave but stopped when he realized that Puma wasn't where she was supposed to be. Why did she move? Both Rasa and Puma briefly had to wonder why Zoro was wandering around the former's office. Hating to deal with nonsense, Puma walked up and grabbed Zoro's arm and guided him out and onto the street where Naruto and Gaara were.
***End Flashback***
In all honesty, Zoro didn't like it. He didn't think it was a good idea for Gaara to stay here; especially with a man like Rasa for his father. Well…there was Gaara's uncle, who seemed to be taking care of him, but there was also the fact that the Kazekage was hiring people to try and take out his own son, only to end in failure. How many people had to die unnecessarily before Rasa was happy?
"…'Betterment and safety of the village' my ass." Zoro muttered.
000
Yashamaru set a plate of food down on the table in front of Gaara, and then took a seat for himself across from him.
"Itadakimasu," Yashamaru said, but Gaara simply remained silent as he studied his food.
A moment or two had passed before Gaara started eating much like a puppet would, visibly lost in thought. Gaara had actually sat there long enough that Yashamaru was starting to think that the boy wasn't going to even eat anything.
He had been observing from a distance when he saw the foreign boy willingly and more than happily play with Gaara. It was the first time in a long time Gaara genuinely seemed happy. Plus, the boy had thought that the ball popping incident was hilarious, and didn't show any fear whatsoever. Yashamaru had seen Puma escort Zoro out of the Kazekage's office, and then watched as the teen approached the two boys and pulled them to the side. That was when Yashamaru quickly assured the ANBU present that he would take care of it, and shooed the ANBU aside. They couldn't have their resident Jinchuuriki suddenly lose it – and Yashamaru was the only one Gaara listened to. Most of the time.
Yasamaru had kept out of sight but stayed within hearing distance. That was when he overheard Zoro talking.
"Your old man told me about you."
"Kid, has anyone ever come after you before? Like trying to kill you?"
"He hired me to kill you."
The voice of the other boy had protested vehemently. "Zoro, you can't! He's my friend!"
It had struck him as odd, that the boy had only known Gaara for an hour, and had witnessed what he could do, yet he already considered his nephew a friend.
"I didn't say that I was going to, brat."
There had been something that made Yashamaru twitch as he listened in on the conversation.
"Gaara, listen. You shouldn't stay here. Even if this sand shield thing you have protects you, you shouldn't have to deal with attacks and f**king idiots getting themselves killed. You're the one who has to live with the result of their idiocy."
Yashamaru thought of Rasa and his decision to try and eliminate Gaara because of their failure in properly Sealing the Ichibi away. While Konoha had fuinjutsu masters, all Suna had was an old healer and rudimentary techniques. They had been lucky that the Sealing portion even worked, but the Seal on Gaara was just…fragile. The Ichibi's chakra caused a severe imbalance in Gaara, resulting in him having little to no control of his abilities, along with never being able to sleep.
But then, that was when it happened;
"Father wouldn't do that…" Gaara started, but couldn't finish because he started hyperventilating. Zoro reached out, but a wall of sand stopped him before he even got within inches of Gaara. "He wouldn't…"
"Calm down and breathe, Gaara."
"Gaara, it's alright!"
"Calm down, raccoon-brat. No one's going to hurt you. We're just talking, got it?"
Nothing more than a simple statement and words of comfort, and the sand fell away. Yashamaru couldn't claim to understand it himself, but Zoro easily had a calming influence or something over someone he had only known for a few minutes. While Yashamaru was able to calm Gaara, it took more effort on his part and he had known Gaara for the entirety of the boy's life.
"I mean…I personally think the sheath is safe, but your old man doesn't…"
Zoro seemed to have a different opinion of the Seal, though, given what Yashamaru could understand about that comment. He had seen Zoro unseal and reseal bodies, but the teen's knowledge of fuinjutsu didn't seem that expansive. Zoro probably didn't know exactly what he was dealing with. Rasa wouldn't reveal everything at the risk of the people he hired using the Ichibi's power.
"Do you have a monster in you too?" The other boy had asked. It was with that question that Yashamaru realized that the other boy was a Jinchuuriki as well; which meant Zoro knew exactly what he was dealing with. Where had Zoro found a Jinchuuriki?!
"I-I don't know? People…people usually say that I'm the monster-"
"You're not a monster." The statement was said so simply and resolutely. "Look…we aren't sticking around here for long; we've gotta keep moving, but if you want to come with us, we'll be waiting outside the South Gate until one o'clock tonight."
They were offering Gaara a way out. Rasa would no longer have to deal with the threat of his citizens randomly being attacked. But simply handing over a Jinchuuriki was dangerous…
Zoro was an odd one, but Yashamaru had never gotten the impression from the teen that he had ill-intentions. Of course, that was what made a person dangerous. When they could hide every aspect of who they really were and slip in between different personas with practiced ease. But throughout his limited interactions with Zoro, he had judged the teen to be blunt, earnest, and looking for a challenge, along with having various quirks he had seen that brought out the teen's still-present childishness when he was called out on them.
"We'll be waiting at the South Gate. Please come with us!"
"I'm just like you, ya'know…I have a monster in me, too…but Zoro-nii saved me, and he'll save you too."
The truth was…Yashamaru was tired of lying. He didn't like warping Karura's legacy in order to "test" Gaara. But if he could somehow get Gaara to leave with Zoro, Rasa would get what he wanted in a way; and Gaara would get to have a life.
Yashamaru put down his spoon and tiredly rubbed his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Again, he glanced at Gaara, who was still overly focused on his plate. An image of Gaara when he was an innocent, lonely three year old flashed unbidden in his mind. It had been fairly easy to come into physical contact with Gaara during the first few years of his life, but Rasa hadn't allowed any contact unless it was absolutely necessary.
Yashamaru understood that Gaara couldn't control his abilities when he was upset, and the child didn't understand why the other children were afraid of him. He seemed vaguely aware that he was somehow different, but didn't fully understand what that difference was. When he was younger, Gaara sometimes spoke of the "monster eating his mind" but rarely mentioned it unless he was explicitly asked.
It pained Yashamaru that Gaara didn't understand why. Gaara had asked, of course. But Yashamaru had explicitly been told what he could and couldn't say to Gaara about why people were scared of him. So he always had a myriad of excuses prepared. But Yashamaru believed that the only reason Gaara believed anything he said was because he was the boy's uncle, and family didn't lie to each other.
But then, there came the day that changed everything. The sand had always obeyed Gaara's unwitting commands, causing slight injuries here and there. But of course, there were the few people who had seriously been hurt. None of them had died, yet – but there were a few village children who had lost either a hand or a leg; forever diverting the course of their lives before they had even begun. As an understandable result, people feared Gaara; and amongst those who feared Gaara, were Temari and Kankuro, his older siblings. While they didn't encourage the fear, they didn't attempt to dissuade it either. In fact, Yashamaru was fairly positive that Gaara had no idea he even had siblings. Gaara simply thought that the older boy and girl were an odd pair who held some loyalty to his father whenever he saw them around the Kazekage's tower; and he was more than aware that they were scared of him. He was also explicitly told to stay away from them by Rasa.
***Four years ago…***
A four-year-old Gaara stared glumly down at the ground as he slowly walked home. Today was yet another failed attempt to make friends with the local children. Once again, the "run away from the monster" game had reared its ugly head and the other children ran away screaming before he even got beyond a simple greeting. There was the sudden sound of furious whispers, and Gaara paused, looking around. He didn't see anyone, yet he could hear them.
It only took a moment for Gaara to realize what he called "the monster in his mind" was trying to speak to him again. Sighing, Gaara pushed the whispers away. The monster was only really loud when Gaara tried to sleep – key word being tried. He once almost drifted off and that was when he heard the monster's voice. It was only bits and pieces of enraged, incompressible screaming that absolutely terrified him, and he was convinced that the owner of that voice could gobble him up. Gaara was the very definition of insomniac, and never sleeping left him to his own devices for hours on end. That mostly involved standing by himself in the middle of his room surrounded by toys he didn't really have any idea what to do with, while shutting out the voice and staying awake.
He had a few favorite toys, like his red ball and teddy bear. He had other toys, but it seemed that they required more than one person to be used properly. Yashamaru couldn't play with him "because he was an adult and was busy." But that didn't explain why he had observed other adults playing with children. Yashamaru had said something about "being presentable" or something. The boy didn't fully understand it.
As Gaara walked through the front door of his home, Yashamaru greeted him.
"Welcome home, Gaara. Are you hungry?"
"No…I'm going up to room. Goodnight." Gaara mumbled, and made his way upstairs to his room.
Gaara stared at his array of toys for about ten minutes before selecting a small rubber duck. He squeezed it and the duck let out a wheezing noise that became irritating even to his ears after the fourth squeeze. Placing the rubber duck to the side, Gaara picked up his bear. There wasn't much he was required to do other than hold it.
Gaara stared at the wall, and began thinking about what he was going to do. He began formulating a plan where he could possibly play with the other children. His sand was difficult to control when he was upset, so staying calm was a must. He had unwittingly injured a girl named Ami around his age a few weeks ago when his sand wrapped around her leg. She hadn't lost the leg, but it didn't help that the fear directed towards him only increased.
Gaara once had asked Yashamaru why people were scared of him.
"Are they scared of the monster? Am I the monster? Is that why they're scared of me?"
Yashamaru smiled. "People fear what they don't understand, and they hate what they fear. The world would be a better place if people tried to understand each other. Just…give them a chance to understand you, and try to be understanding in turn."
"So…if I'm more understanding, then I'll have friends?" Gaara enquired hopefully.
Yashamaru hesitated, but only briefly. "Yes, you will."
It didn't really answer Gaara's question, but it did give him some insight. Try to be more understanding. Of what? He didn't really know. But his uncle said that was how to make friends and Yashamaru wouldn't lie to him. After all, family didn't lie to each other.
So all he had to do was be more understanding. And be calm. And make sure that his sand didn't unwittingly go grabbing onto people and injuring them.
"I could just try and talk to them, right?" Gaara asked his bear.
The bear didn't respond, and simply gazed back with black button-eyes.
"So…that's what I'll do…" Gaara mumbled, and so he waited for daylight to come.
000
That morning, Gaara was pretty sure he had everything planned out – and Yashamaru had to wonder what was on Gaara's mind. The boy seemed more focused, or distracted than usual.
"What's going on, Gaara?"
"Nothing." Gaara lied, and it was clear to Yashamaru that he had done so. Instead of calling Gaara out on it, Yashamaru just responded with,
"Alright. Just be careful."
Yashamaru had to take care of a few medicines that needed to be sent out that day, so he would be busy. It wasn't like Gaara was conspiring anything dangerous, and ever since Ami had been injured, the local children had widened the berth between themselves and Gaara. Gaara continued his fruitless approaches, but no-one had gotten so much as a scratch since the incident with Ami.
It was early afternoon when Gaara finally set out towards the center of the village where the majority of the children his age and up would play. He hoped that today the children weren't going to play "run away from the monster" or throw something at him that caused his shield to respond. At first, Gaara thought that the children were playing with him, but he had a sharp enough mind to put two and two together and realize that they weren't really playing with him. He didn't want to be the monster that they all avoided.
So here he was, and he slowly approached a group of seven children; three girls, four boys. One of the girls looked to be a few years older than the others, and she was the first to notice Gaara's slow approach, but she didn't say a word. Gaara walked stiffly so that his arms remained at his sides, doing his best to prove that he wasn't the monster everyone said he was. He had gotten within five feet of them when the others finally noticed his presence.
"Ahh!" one of the boys who was closest to him stumbled away, and started to run, followed by the others, minus the older girl.
But Gaara didn't give chase nor did he reach out for them. Upon realizing that Gaara wasn't running after them reaching out with his sand, a few of the children stopped running. The older girl crossed her arms and gave Gaara a look.
"What do you want?" Her tone was angry, but everything about her body language showed that she was scared.
"What's Maiko doing?" one of the younger girls whispered. She received equally confused and concerned glances while others shrugged.
Gaara hadn't actually thought that someone would willingly talk to him. Glancing nervously at Maiko and the others behind her, he responded quietly, "I…I was wondering if…we could, um, play a game…?"
Maiko made a face, not exactly angry, but not too welcoming either. She glanced back at the other kids behind her. "I know a game we can play."
"What?!" the other kids with her questioned in surprise.
Gaara was surprised that it had actually worked! Looking hopeful, he asked, "What game?"
The girl, surprising even the kids who were with her ran towards Gaara in what would have been an admirable amount of courage in any other situation, and violently shoved him. Since his sand hadn't perceived what she was doing as any form of attack, she was able to come into contact with him and she very successfully shoved Gaara to the ground.
As she glared down at Gaara, her tone was so even, she would have done any Suna-Nin proud. "As if we'd ever play with a monster like you."
If Maiko had only said those words, things probably wouldn't have been so bad. Gaara had heard those words all the time, but this was different. At first, Gaara had been too surprised to respond, and he simply laid there flat on his back trying to process what just happened. Why had she been angry? This wasn't part of any game, was it? If so, he didn't really like it.
"Stay away from us, you monster! Don't you know why everyone hates you?!" Maiko furiously shouted. "You ruin everything! My little sister Ami is never going to walk again because of you! Why don't you do everyone a favor and just freaking die, already?!"
Those words hurt in a way Gaara couldn't really understand. He had apologized! Why wasn't that good enough? The whispers in his mind were making his ears ring and his head ache. It was like something was trying to claw its way out.
\F*ck that little bitch! Tear her f*cking limbs off!\
Gaara grabbed the sides of his head in pain, and began writhing on the ground while the other kids finally processed what Maiko had done. She had made the monster angry, and Maiko now was slowly coming to the realization that she shouldn't have shoved the monster.
"What did you do?!"
"HEY!" a man's voice called out, and the children hadn't even gone three steps before a few ANBU swept in and grabbed them.
"Get Yashamaru here now!" a woman shouted. Even though her face was concealed by a Puma mask, the children could feel her glare. "And get these stupid brats somewhere safe."
"Hai!" The ANBU swept away with the children, while the woman and her companion stayed, watching warily as the Jinchuuriki convulsed and screamed from its place on the ground. They could feel the dark aura leaking out of the host, and they were prepared to fight for their lives.
Yashamaru came in what felt like hours later, when in reality it had only been three minutes since Maiko had shoved the Jinchuuriki to the ground.
"Gaara! Gaara, are you alright?" Yashamaru raced to his nephew's side, ignoring everything and reached to grab Gaara's shoulder. A wall of sand encased Yashamaru's hand when he got within inches. Yashamaru forced himself to remain calm. "G-Gaara? Gaara, it's me, please calm down, it's alright."
Gaara was curling into himself, grabbing his head and grunting in pain.
"Listen to me, Gaara…it's alright…just-just calm down, okay? We'll…" Yashamaru searched for something to say. He wasn't sure what was triggering this reaction, but he didn't want to say something that could backfire. "We'll play a game."
The sand encasing his hand suddenly tightened, cutting into his hand, and Yashamaru flinched. He could see a few spots of red growing in the sand. His hand wasn't broken, that was very fortunate. But he was at a point where losing his hand was a high possibility.
"Gaara, you're hurting me." Yashamaru said carefully, but there was no response. "Take a deep breath, Gaara. You're fine."
The ANBU were eyeing the situation uncertainly; but they had their weapons drawn, ready for a fight. Yashamaru spent the better part of an hour desperately trying to make sure that Gaara didn't release the Ichibi and that he didn't lose his life or limb in the process. Quietly and very nervously, another ANBU approached and informed Yashamaru of what had transpired.
Frowning, Yashamaru responded, "I see. Thank you for telling me."
Then, he turned his attention back to Gaara. Those kids…little to no repercussions would be handed out to those little bastards.
"Can you hear me, Gaara?" Yashamaru muttered, ignoring the pain in his hand. "What those kids did, it wasn't fair and it wasn't right…it hurts, doesn't it? You know, a wound of a heart is different from a flesh wound. Unlike a flesh wound, there are no ointments to heal it, and there are times when they never heal."
Gaara stopped moving for a time; the only sound was his ragged breathing. Yashamaru continued talking; mostly trying to explain why people did things to others that were cruel and unfair, and the results that came about from those actions.
Finally, Gaara slowly and deliberately sat up, but he didn't seem to acknowledge Yashamaru, or anyone else for that matter. He just stared blankly ahead, and that was when Yashamaru saw it. Gaara was crying – he wasn't outright bawling, but it was more of a silent sort of crying that was even more heartbreaking.
"I…" Gaara started, and he slowly turned to look at Yashamaru. "I don't understand why…I tried…" he then finally seemed to realize that his sand was wrapped around Yashamaru's hand. The sand fell away, and a sense of relief flooded through those present. Gaara eyed Yashamaru's hand, studying the wounds.
"I'm sorry." Gaara mumbled.
"This is nothing." Yashamaru assured. "Let's go home."
He reached for Gaara's shoulder, and flinched back when a wall of sand shot up. Gaara glanced up at Yashamaru, looking somewhat guilty. Saying nothing, Gaara turned away towards their house. Yashamaru watched the retreating form of his nephew with growing concern.
As Yashamaru had figured, the children involved in the incident weren't really reprimanded, and Gaara was told explicitly by Rasa to stay away from the other children. It was disheartening to see Gaara completely shut down, even though it had only been for a few hours.
Something changed in Gaara that day. Most of the time, he stared at people impassively, but he still had moments of hesitation when he wasn't sure how to handle a situation or an interaction if he had one. Now, he spent most of his time staring at the ground, and not really acknowledging the people around him.
But it was through this that Yashamaru learned Gaara could be petty to the point of spite. Maiko found herself face-planting numerous times over the course of the following week thanks to well-controlled and well-concealed placements of sand. Yashamaru realized who the culprit was by the third time it happened, and finally put a stop to it when he felt that a ruffled, scraped and bruised Maiko had enough.
It was when he watched as Gaara closed himself off even from him that Yashamaru began wishing for Gaara to somehow escape this place and have a life that didn't involve such cruel loneliness.
000* Present Day *000
Yashamaru ran his fingers over the faded scars on his opposite hand. After that day, Yashamaru hadn't had any sort of physical contact with Gaara. Physical contact had become just another form of attack in Gaara's mind, and it had been that way for four years too long. It was also the last time Yashamaru had seen Gaara cry, or show any emotion that wasn't subdued. That silent wish he had made for a better life for Gaara was slowly coming to the forefront of his mind.
Today, Ami was able to walk, but she had a very pronounced limp and would never walk normally again for the rest of her life. Any prospects for even a small amount of normalcy had dwindled down to near zero.
It was a life that no child or adult deserved. Yashamaru glanced over at Gaara again, who was now putting his plate in the sink. His nephew hadn't said a word since his meeting with Zoro and the fellow Jinchuuriki. Gaara silently made his way out of the kitchen, not even saying a word. Yashamaru heard him go upstairs to his room. Since Gaara didn't sleep, he simply stood in the middle of his room with his favorite teddy bear and stared at the walls, as was routine.
"You're not a monster. Look…we aren't sticking around here for long; we've gotta keep moving, but if you want to come with us, we'll be waiting outside the South Gate until one o'clock tonight."
"…Zoro-nii saved me, and he'll save you too."
There was a soft knock on the front door, interrupting the man's thoughts and Yashamaru went to answer it. Temari looked hesitantly past Yashamaru, half-expecting Gaara to be there and worried about what she would do if Gaara happened to be there.
"He's upstairs." Yashamaru provided flatly. His brother-in-law, niece and nephew all knew of his dislike for how Gaara was excluded.
"My father wants to see you." Temari said quickly, not meeting Yashamaru's gaze. She didn't like how he looked at her when it came down to how the younger of her two brothers was treated. Yashamaru may not have said certain things out loud, but she was certain that her uncle thought them. The way she complied with her father's demands unquestioningly, how she and Kankuro heard people talk about and treat Gaara, yet never spoke up against it, how they both ignored him if they ever somehow happened to be in the same room…the list could go on.
The pair left the house (Gaara wasn't going anywhere this time of night) and went to the house where Rasa and his two older children resided.
"Evening, Yashamaru-san." Rasa greeted casually. He was seated in armchair and motioned for Yashamaru to sit across from him. "How are you?"
"As well as I could be." Yashamaru responded stiffly as he sat down.
Temari and Kankuro both stood to the side, observing carefully.
"Upstairs, both of you." Rasa didn't even spare the two a glance and neither of them argued, although Kankuro looked a little put out for being excluded.
Once they were gone, Rasa only asked for the sake of formality, "Would you like some tea or sake?"
Yashamaru frowned. While he wasn't vocal, he let his disapproval be known in other ways. While he wasn't really disrespectful, he found ways to show that he didn't agree with Rasa's decisions.
"What do you want, Rasa?"
"Right down to business, I see. Very well, then. I suppose that means you won't be wanting any refreshments." Rasa shrugged as if Yashamaru's disrespect didn't really matter. "You're aware that Roronoa Zoro showed up in Suna?"
"Yes." Yashamaru had a feeling he knew where this was going.
"I hired him to assassinate Gaara."
Yashamaru acted surprised. "You what? But…he's an outsider, and I was under the impression that he only went after kenjutsu users… why would you hire him?" Yashamaru then had to ask the next question that popped into his head. "Why are you telling me this? You've never told me about the ANBU you've hired, or when you've hired them…"
"Because, I want you to attempt to kill Gaara if Roronoa fails. As you know, Gaara is our biggest failure…but at the same time, this is the ultimate test for him. If Gaara passes, he might just finally prove useful, even if he'll be difficult to control."
Zoro's words echoed in Yashamaru's mind once again.
"I'll understand if you don't want to, but a brat like yourself shouldn't have to live in a place where their own parent puts a target on their backs."
The teen was right. Probably, if Yashamaru had been a braver man, he would have simply taken Gaara and left at the first sign of Rasa's dissatisfaction. But things like loyalty, fear, even something as simple as a promise, could hold people in a place where they don't have much of a choice. Or perhaps if the choice is there, they are too afraid to grab it. But sometimes, a chance presents itself in the form of a wandering teen who already had one Jinchuuriki under his care and actually offered the chance for a better life. That was when a person had to grab onto that opportunity and not let go.
"I understand." Yashamaru said stiffly. "I'll see myself out."
Yashamaru gave a quick bow, and left.
Now, his mind was racing. *What am I going to do?*
It was a matter of convincing Gaara to leave with Roronoa and not have a reason to return. He knew that Roronoa was waiting until one o'clock that night, so he would have to time things perfectly.
000
It was just a bit passed midnight when Rasa received a message from one of the ANBU. Bird held out a scroll for him to take, and Rasa accepted it and nodded his permission for Bird to leave. He read the scroll's contents, which consisted of a rather simple message:
"At 2300 hours, Roronoa Zoro failed in his attempt to kill Gaara. The boy who had been with him tried as well and perished in the attempt. Gaara is currently in an emotional state. Will now move forward with second half of plan.
-Yashamaru"
Rasa sighed as he burned away the scroll with a flare of chakra. As the Kazekage, he would do whatever it took to take care of his village – even if it was eight years too late.
000
Gaara was currently sitting on the rooftop of his home staring up at the full moon. The whispers in his mind weren't so bad when he did this simple activity. He was thinking about the boy who had more than happily played with him that day, along with the older brother who told him that his father was hiring people to kill him because "his sword wasn't sheathed properly" or something like that. He didn't really understand it. But both of them wanted him to leave Suna with them, because his father apparently had been the one to send those masked Shinobi to attack him.
The thing was though, he didn't fully understand why his father would be sending the ANBU to kill him. Was it because of how his sand responded to his emotions? Was it because he was in fact the monster that whispered in the back of his mind? Or maybe it was because he had unwittingly hurt Yashamaru a few times. There was those two older children that he had often seen around his father's office – he had unwittingly injured them slightly before. It hadn't been anything too serious – just a few cuts that required stitches from what he had been told when he asked. But that had happened years ago.
Gaara had always said that he was sorry, and Yashamaru always said that it was alright. The boy was so deep in thought that he barely even registered the metallic ringing noise in the air when his sand suddenly shot up, protecting him from the attack.
A masked ninja stood across from him on the rooftop, kunai in hand. Gaara's eyes widened in fear as his attacker threw the kunai. His sand automatically blocked the attack, but that didn't deter the assassin. He drew two more kunai, this time with exploding tags attached.
"Kid, has anyone ever come after you before? Like trying to kill you?"
"He hired me to kill you."
His father wouldn't really do that, would he? Not having time to dwell on his doubts, Gaara quickly turned on his heel and ran, his sand raising once again as more kunai shot at him. An explosion rang out, causing his ears to ring and the monster inside to start screaming in glee for the fight and begging for blood. Gaara tried to ignore the monster and began desperately calling out, "Oji-chan! Oji-chan!"
His assailant suddenly closed in on him, and Gaara froze, wondering if the reason for Yashamaru not showing up was because this man had killed him.
"STOP!" Gaara demanded and swung his arm out. The ANBU had barely gotten within a foot of Gaara before his sand shot out in an array of spikes and skewering the man through his stomach and the right side of his chest. The man slumped against the wall and slid down, leaving a trail of red.
"Who…who are you?" Gaara asked tentatively. "Did…did my father send you?"
Labored breathing was his only response. Gaara stared, wondering what he should do. Slowly, Gaara approached the ANBU and removed his mask. Gaara looked into the eyes of his uncle, Yashamaru.
The boy froze, dropping the mask. An ominous voice chuckled in the back of his mind. \"You can't trust anyone."\ The monster added in a singsong voice, \"That Zoro guy lied to you. He said no-one was going to hurt you."\
"Gaara…" Yashamaru breathed out in a whisper. He coughed up blood, causing him to go into a horrible coughing fit. Finally gasping in rattling breaths, Yashamaru looked over at his nephew. "Gaara…I'm sorry…to have…done this. Ro-" Yashamaru was cut off when he starting coughing again, but he forced himself to take in a painful breath. "Roronoa told you…the truth. Rasa really…really was…sending…people after you."
"But why? Is it because I'm…because of the monster?"
Yashamaru only nodded. Looking at Gaara, he took in the boy's forlorn features. Yashamaru had been lying to Gaara for so long, but since this was the last time he would ever see the boy, he was going to do right by Gaara and Karura. "Rasa…no… I lied to you…your mother…loved you so much. Dying…wasn't your…fault." Yashamaru's breathing was becoming more difficult, as was speaking. "You…go with Zoro…don't…come back…Karura would want…you to live…"
Gaara looked at his uncle disbelievingly. But Yashamaru didn't seem to be able to focus on him. He was trying to process what Yashamaru was saying. His mother had loved him? He wanted him to go with Zoro?
Yashamaru hoped that he bought Gaara enough time, as he had told the ANBU to stay away until the bigger explosion went off.
With a sad smile, Yashamaru studied his nephew's face one last time. He didn't have the strength or the time to say much more. *'If you really are who I think you are Zoro, then surely you will succeed where I have failed. You will give Gaara the life he deserves. You aren't tied to Suna…Be free, Gaara!'*
He slowly reached out to Gaara, but the sand intercepted his hand. That wasn't surprising. "I…" Yashamaru looked at Gaara and smiled sadly. He couldn't lie to Gaara anymore – he no longer had to. "I love you."
Gaara hadn't heard anyone ever say those words to him, and his eyes widened in surprise. His uncle loved him? But why? Gaara couldn't understand. He was a monster, and ruined everything he touched. Why was Yashamaru doing this? Gaara's racing thoughts were interrupted when another explosion went off, and as always, his sand protected him. When his shield dropped, Yashamaru's body was unrecognizable.
Gaara stared, unable to move. He didn't understand. \"He lied to you. He killed himself to get away from you."\
Six ANBU gathered mere seconds later, but before they could get within five feet of him, Gaara's chaotic sand reacted violently, killing all of them.
\"YES! YES! KILL THEM ALL! LIARS! FILTH!"\
Gaara slowly walked towards the South Gate, fighting back tears. He hardly even registered that there were people around him. There was shouting and screaming, but they were suddenly silenced.
\"Let me out…I'll f*cking rip them to shreds!"\
Why? Gaara glared hatefully at an ANBU who suddenly had her head crushed. She deserved to die. Because, she was a liar. They were all liars! He couldn't trust anyone!
\"THAT'S RIGHT! You can't trust that man…he was hired to kill you, just like them. That other boy is just using you…he'll kill you the moment your back is turned! You only have ME to rely on! I'm all you need! LET ME OUT!"\
Gaara's sand was swirling around him so erratically, it forced the ANBU back to regroup and try to come up with another plan of attack. The sandstorm around Gaara was picking up, and starting to grow and spread throughout Suna. There was also the problem of feeling the Ichibi's suppressing chakra, warning them that the monster could break out any second. The thought was terrifying; especially now that Yashamaru was gone. They had to eliminate him either before the Ichibi was released or all of them were killed. But they had lost sight of their target.
"Where is he?!"
"Find him, now!"
"What if that thing breaks loose?"
"We'll just have to kill the thing before that happens!"
The Suna ANBU all spread out in varying teams of two and three to find the creature and finally end its reign of terror.
000
A few miles outside south of Suna, Zoro was snoring away, while Naruto was cleaning his sword. He wanted to make sure that he maintained it, just like Zoro said he should. There was an underlying fear that he would somehow lose the sword if he didn't take care of it. Suddenly, there was an explosion somewhere within the village, causing Naruto to jerk and cut his fingers. Naruto ignored his injury when something within him flared, and he felt as if he were suddenly itching for a fight. He wanted to rip apart that strange source of energy, and he almost ran off in search of it.
But it was powerful enough for Zoro to feel too, and he quickly sat up with a snort and a "what the hell is that" expression.
Minutes that felt like hours ticked by; and gradually, they saw the form of Gaara walking towards them, with sand whipping around him. Bits of sand was sticking to him strangely, making him look part animal, and his eyes were slowly flashing in between their usual green with an eerie yellow and black. His face was in all honesty, creepy; his expression was emotionless, yet there was a definite thirst for blood.
"…Gaara?" Naruto asked hesitantly, not trusting himself to approach the other boy. The Kyuubi within him wanted to tear Gaara limb from limb.
Zoro slowly stood up, not liking this one bit. What had happened in between now and earlier this evening?
"Naruto, stay right there, don't move." Zoro ordered, and Naruto could only nod.
Zoro took a step forward, when two ANBU unexpectedly appeared.
"There you are!" one of them shouted as they both threw some sort of oversized chain-and-shuriken weapon at Gaara in what was undoubtedly some form of a team attack. Gaara's shield responded very violently, grabbing onto the pair of men who could do nothing but scream before they were crushed into a pulp that disappeared into the writhing sand.
Well, shit. Gaara turned his attention onto Zoro now. Double shit. While at any other time Zoro would have wanted to fight whatever this was, the boy before him was barely even recognizable.
Zoro slowly approached Gaara, looking serious. "Gaara?"
"You're going to kill me."
Gaara's voice was absolutely impassive; completely different from the boy who Zoro had seen earlier that day.
"What makes you say that?" Zoro didn't pause. He had to calm Gaara down, somehow. But he wasn't sure how to go about doing it.
"Father hired you, just like the rest of them." Gaara suddenly winced as he gripped his head in pain. Taking in gasping breaths, Gaara was torn in between either talking to Zoro or killing him; or finally succumbing to the monster that was screaming for more blood in the back of his mind.
Zoro continued walking forward, making his way towards Gaara. Zoro didn't have a plan, as he left most things to his skill with a sword or luck, or whatever people wanted to call it.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Gaara snarled, but Zoro continued on.
"No. This isn't you."
"I…I said stop!"
Zoro paused at the feeling of the dark energy. Scowling, Zoro said, "Pull it in, Gaara. You aren't a monster, and you shouldn't let it control you. You can do it. You're the one in control."
"Liar! You lied to me!"
Zoro frowned at the sound of two distinct voices coming out a second time, but he continued walking forward until he was only a few feet from Gaara, who was shouting at him again. "I said stay back!"
Zoro barely flinched as sand shot passed him and cut his arm. He only stopped when he was within arm's reach of Gaara. "Gaara, I meant it when I said I wanted you to come with us. And when I said that no-one was going to hurt you." Jerking a thumb at the other brat behind him, Zoro added, "Plus, Naruto already went and decided that you two're friends."
Gaara looked up at Zoro with tear-filled eyes mixed with fear. One of his eyes was completely black and yellow. "Why? I don't understand."
"Because, this," Zoro motioned at Suna, "is not a life that a kid like you deserves. Hell, I wouldn't wish this life on someone that I hated."
\"He's lying. He's going to kill you. You can't trust him."\
"You're lying."
Zoro blinked. He thought that he sounded convincing. "What makes you say that?"
"The monster in my head knows you're lying."
"The monster…?" Zoro's eyes narrowed. He almost went with something like, 'you can't trust anything that bastard says' but thought better of it. A sword that has a mind of its own is a dangerous one. "What is the monster saying?"
"You're a liar, and you're going to try and kill me, just like everyone else." Gaara growled out.
\"That's right, Gaara. You have to kill him before he kills you."\
Gaara raised a hand as sand began to wrap around Zoro's arms and legs. Although Zoro stiffened, he refused to move.
Gaara's voice was becoming more animalistic as he added, "I have to kill you before you kill me!"
This was worse than Zoro thought. He was having a very one-sided argument with a monster through a terrified little kid.
"But I'm not going to kill you." Zoro stated evenly.
Naruto watched from where he sat, doing his best to suppress his own demon. What if Zoro-nii didn't survive this? Naruto quickly shook his head of the thought, and focused on Zoro and Gaara.
"Come on…" the blond all but desperately whispered.
\"Then he'll just use you and then abandon you once your usefulness is done! Your mother and uncle died because they were abandoning you."\
But that turned out to be the wrong thing for the Ichibi to say, because it brought back some of Gaara's senses.
"Why?" Gaara asked again. "I don't understand."
Zoro gave Gaara a questioning look. "Why what?"
"Why did they leave me behind?!" Gaara demanded angrily. Zoro shuddered slightly when he felt the sand slice into his skin, and a few drops of blood leaked from in between the shifting grains. "My mother and Oji-chan left me behind…they said they loved me but they left me behind…"
\"People who claim to love you will always either betray you or abandon you! That's why you can't trust anyone but me!"\
Zoro slowly reached a hand forward in an attempt at comfort, but the sand around his arm tightened. But Zoro didn't even react.
"Don't touch me!" Gaara angrily demanded.
"My sensei once told me that people will go to great lengths and do things that we don't always understand because they love someone."
\"THEY'RE ALL IDIOTS AND LIARS! He's just prolonging his death. JUST F*CKING KILL HIM ALREADY! LET ME TASTE HIS BLOOD!"\
Zoro took a deep breath and then glared down at Gaara. "What the hell are you doing, sand-brat?! Why are you suddenly listening to that stupid monster's voice?! Drown him out, because if you listen to the shit that thing is spewing out, then you really will be the monster everyone says you are!" Zoro then ripped his arm out of Gaara's sand's hold, ignoring the bloody cuts as he drew Wado Ichimonji, and its blade caught the moonlight. Gaara stared at Zoro in disbelief mixed with fear. Was Zoro going to attack him now? "You see this sword, Gaara? I, Roronoa Zoro, make a swordsman's promise right here and now that I will protect you! You never have to be afraid, because if anyone tries to hurt you," Zoro sent Gaara a feral grin that would have made a person with even the smallest sense of survival turn tail and run. But Gaara wasn't known for having the sense of survival where he had to run away. "Then they'll have to deal with me, first. Got that, Gaara?"
Gaara stared at Zoro in silence for a moment or two long enough that the teen started questioning whether or not Gaara had understood him. But then the sand around them fell just seconds later, and Gaara practically tackled Zoro into a hug that was awkward for both of them. Gaara wasn't an expert in giving hugs, and Zoro wasn't an expert in receiving them; especially from children. He ended up dropping his sword to the ground and sinking down to Gaara's level as the boy sobbed into his chest loudly.
"Uh…you're safe now…" Zoro said, and then after thinking for a moment started patting Gaara on the back.
"Are you okay, now?" Naruto asked as he carefully approached the two.
Gaara suddenly pulled away, looking embarrassed. "Sorry…" he noticed Zoro's wounds."I injured you! I'm sorry!"
"This is nothing." Zoro shrugged as he picked up his sword and sheathed it. "I've had worse."
"You aren't mad?" Gaara asked tentatively.
Zoro sent Gaara a look. Hadn't he just said that it didn't bother him? "I'm not mad." He sent Suna a wary glance. "We should get going. You feel okay to walk, right?" Gaara nodded. "Come on you two."
Naruto quickly fell in step beside Zoro, while Gaara stared back at the place that had been his home for the entirety of his existence. He thought of what Yashamaru had told him before he died.
"Go with Zoro, don't come back. Karura would want you to live."
"I love you."
"Hurry up, Gaara!" Naruto called out.
"Keep up, sand-brat!" Zoro added, crossing his arms. "You don't want to get left behind."
Slowly, Gaara turned his back on Suna and jogged a bit until he had caught up with Zoro and Naruto. "Where are we going?"
"Kiri." Zoro answered brusquely.
"Wait, we have to head all that way?!" demanded Naruto. He knew that from his many times looking at the map that Kiri was a small country to the east that was in the middle of the ocean. "Gah, I hope we run into some more merchants…" Naruto quickly turned to Gaara. "You haveto help keep a close eye on Zoro-nii. If we're not careful, he'll get us lost in the middle of the desert."
"I don't get lost, brat!" Zoro denied, whacking Naruto on the head.
"You do too!" Naruto couldn't reach that high and opted for hitting Zoro just above his hip.
Gaara observed the two curiously. Was it common for people to hit each other like this? He wasn't sure. Was Zoro mad? He didn't seem mad. At least, not in the way he had usually seen people act when angry. Naruto didn't seem that angry, and he kept trying to get Gaara to see his side about something, and Zoro was adamantly denying Naruto's accusations. Gaara didn't understand his new companions at all…but they were amusing.
It wasn't long until Suna was left far behind them.
000
The sun had barely risen over the horizon when Rasa stared out at the destruction. It wasn't much, as only Yashamaru and Gaara's house was damaged in the bomb blast. But they had lost ten ANBU and Yashamaru in ridding Suna of the Demon. While they had found the charred remains of Yashamaru (who had only been identifiable due to various unique aspects of his uniform) there was no evidence of Gaara being killed, yet there was no evidence of him still being alive, either.
Last night, they had felt the Ichibi's wild chakra, only for it to suddenly fade out. It didn't really make sense, but at least the monster was gone. Rasa of course, had his suspicions; but it wasn't really like he could do anything about them. Suna didn't have the luxury of spare Shinobi, and couldn't exactly go out hunting for someone when they might be dead or off wandering only the gods know where – plus, they wouldn't be paid for it.
Speaking of luxuries, Rasa couldn't waste time worrying about whether or not Gaara had truly been taken care of. He was no longer a threat to Suna and its residents, and that was all that mattered. The Kazekage had other things to focus on.
Rasa rubbed the bridge of his nose, pondering over everything they would have to accomplish and when – it didn't take long for the situation involving Gaara to be pushed into the back of his mind and never really thought of again. While their village would more than likely take a few blows for this, they would just have to find other ways to recover and get back in the good graces of the Daimyo. With everyone working together, they could recover and hopefully rival Konoha once again.
iii
So…Gaara doesn't have his 'ai' tattoo. Told ya I was taking some liberties with the world and its people – can't say you weren't warned…
I'm honestly wondering if Gaara should just keep his forehead blank, or maybe he somehow gets the tattoo later, or if it should be replaced with a different tattoo or something else. I've legitimately thought about Gaara having the Straw Hat's Jolly Rodger as a replacement tattoo, after a trip in the "maybe" file, it now resides in the "nah, scrap that" pile.
iii
:About Sand:
iii
"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." – George Sand
iii
*Whiney Anakin Voice* "I hate sand. It's so coarse and rough and irritating!"
*Cute Dory Voice* "I like sand. Sand is squishy."
*Loud Naruto Voice* "Sand is so boring, Dattebayo!"
*Impassive Gaara Voice* "Sand-Coffin."
*Bodybuilding Zoro Voice* "…Sand is good for training your endurance."
0o0o0
Q&A to reviewers here – first off, thank you so much for reading and taking the time to review!
To a few people: About Zoro's directionless/teleporting ways – I have plans for that! It's totally going to come into play!
To a Guest: Zoro says that Naruto has potential, but swordsmanship is only what a one track guy like Zoro knows, and he wants Naruto to be able to defend himself if something happens. Naruto will use the sword because to him it's his "treasure" but he isn't going to be a swordsman.
I know that there are a few people saying that a few more Jinchuuriki should join with Zoro and the others, but Zoro has no reason to go to those places and he already has a goal in mind and that's finding Mihawk. He has a plan, although his plans are in a bit of a damper – more on that later, plus two Jinchuuriki kids'll do that to ya.
While they are going to Kiri, seeing the Mizukage is not on his list of things to do. While Fuu would be interesting, unfortunately there is no way to work her in without it being forced/way too busy, and Waterfall is not going to be their destination. I promise that people will come along, but it's going to be a long wait.
Until then, over and out lovely readers! *kisses*