Gaara woke up in his cold, grey room, to the smell of something burning in the kitchen. He got up and dressed, then remembered the cheese he'd put out. Sure enough, it was gone. He hurried downstairs and tried to open the door–it didn't budge. After pulling again, he realized it was locked. Temari must have locked it. He went into the kitchen where, as he'd expected, Kankuro was preoccupied with his puppet and Temari was burning breakfast.

"There you are. The shinobi's going to drop off groceries for us today, and we're going into town with him to get some other stuff. Just stay inside until we get back, okay?"

"Why can't I come?" He didn't miss the look that passed between his siblings.

"Gaara, it's just best if you stay here," said Temari. "Is there anything you want to eat this next week?"

Gaara shook his head. "What do you think is in the other apartment?" he asked after a minute.

"It's empty."

"Why did you lock the door?"

"Oh. There were rat droppings in there and I've heard some squeaking in the house nights. Besides, I thought you'd feel safer."

"They're mice. And I like the dreams."

There was a pause and Kankuro glanced nervously at Temari's back. After a minute she turned around.

"Look, Gaara, I know you like the dreams, but I don't think they're good for you. You said yourself they weren't like normal dreams; it could be a form of genjutsu or something. We have to be careful."

"Careful I don't go crazy?" Gaara said sullenly. "You're just like father."

Kankuro stiffened. Temari was silent for a minute, then she sighed.

"I know we're not much of a family any more. But we have to stick together; we are brothers and sisters."

"You don't want me. You've never wanted me, either of you." Gaara hugged his doll and walked to the hall door, "Nobody in the village wants me."

"Gaara–"

The doorbell rang, cutting Temari off. She went to answer it with a snort of frustration.

"What?!"

"I brought your groceries," said the shinobi. "Has there been any trouble with Gaara?"

"No. He's been fine." She took the bag and set it on the table, adding, "There's some other stuff we need from town. Can we ride in with you?"

"Only one of you. He's not to be left alone. Those are the Kazekage's orders."

"I know what my father ordered. All right, Kankuro, you stay here."

"Why me?"

"Because you're hopeless at shopping! I'll get the tubing and solder."

"Okay, geez."

Gaara, standing just around the corner in the hall, heard all this and hugged his doll tighter. Everyone here either hated him or was scared of him.

After Temari left, Kankuro dumped the rest of his breakfast and went into the study.

"I'm gonna be practicing," he said, shutting the door.

And I'm going back to the other world. Gaara went into the kitchen and searched the key drawer; finding nothing, he looked around until he saw the button-handled key hanging from a nail high on the wall. With a scowl, he dissolved his sand armor to reach up and knock the key loose. I don't need this there. No one's trying to kill me. He left the sand on the floor and went into the living room.

Gaara unlocked the little door and opened it. As he'd secretly hoped, instead of the bricks, he saw the glowing tunnel from his dreams. He crawled inside, coming out a minute later in the other living room. He found no one, but in the kitchen an array of strange foods were laid out giving off savory smells. There was a note addressed to him.

Dearest Gaara, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible have invited you downstairs after lunch. Father and I will be home soon. Love, Mother.

He was invited downstairs? He'd never been invited anywhere before. Gaara sat down and ate lunch, beginning with a curious round, flat something of bread with cheese and little circles of meat on it. It was delicious.

After lunch, he went outside. Strangely enough it was still night outside; as he looked up, he saw a scraggly black cat just like the one who followed Whybie around back in the other world. The cat looked back at him with big blue eyes, then hopped down onto the railing nearby and began licking a paw. Gaara watched it, unsure what seemed odd about the animal. After a minute he realized it was the blue eyes–the cat had eyes instead of buttons.

"If you're the other cat," he said aloud, "Why don't you have button eyes?"

The cat looked up. "I'm not the other anything. I'm me."

Gaara stared at the cat for a minute. "How can you talk?"

"I just can." The cat leapt neatly down and stalked over to a fallen tree trunk.

"What are you?"

"I'm just a cat–no more, and certainly no less."

"How did you get here?" Gaara asked.

"I've been coming here for a while." The cat disappeared into a hole in the tree trunk, then appeared out of a hole in another trunk a few feet away. "It's a game we play. She hates cats, and tries to keep me out. But she can't, of course. I come and go as I please."

"You mean the Other Mother? She hates cats?"

"Not like any mother I've ever known."

"What do you mean? She's the first person who's really cared about me."

"You probably think this world is a dream come true. But you're wrong. The Other Whybie told me so."

"He can't talk."

"Perhaps not to you. We cats, however, have far superior senses than humans. We can see and smell and–" he stiffened, "Shh! I hear something. Right over… mrow." The cat vanished over the porch roof.

In the distance, Gaara heard a musical sound as of instruments being tuned. He stood still for a minute; the cat's claims had awakened the restlessness inside him and he could feel that uneasy something stirring. What if she's lying, too? No, it couldn't be. Not in this Other world, this place where people actually wanted him.

Gaara followed the sound around to the little stairway down to the apartment shared by Miss Spink and Miss Forcible.