Gaara's POV

Perhaps it was the sudden moment brush of death that caused that passing moment of before to replay in my mind, but I still could not rid myself of the image and thought of that girl I had met only earlier. The way she presented herself to me, the way she spoke to me and acted towards me…this was kunoichi not to be messed with. Just the way she spoke to me, the way she looked at me with cold, silver eyes that could pierce skin and bone….

"If only an inch more into you, I would've been able to split apart every blood vessel and cell in you, killing you instantly. You may be strong, but you are nothing compared to me..."

I could still feel the icy cold shudder run through my body, just as cold as the touch of transparent hands that had touched and attacked me. Vaguely, I remembered at one time studying of a power like this girl's, a power so strong and so invincible, it was created by a family of powerful and strong shinobi that could tear apart an army of enemy opponents within only a breath of will. But that family was eradicated years ago, just like that of the Uchiha clan. Except the eradication of this family was a strange and mysterious thing, and not one member survived the onslaught that killed them. So…how could this girl, this one shinobi, possess a power that was supposed to have disappeared long ago.

"Gaara, are you okay?"

A voice broke through my thoughts and left me standing against the wall of the room, staring dumbly into space. My siblings…my teammates, Kankuro and Temari, stood opposite of me, staring at me with concern and fear, an expression I was more than used to seeing or witnessing. Perhaps it was the mere fact no one could control me, or that creature that resided within me. Even I couldn't control it. "It?" It has a name. A powerful, unstoppable sand demon known as Shikaku. For a while of my life, I allowed myself to be controlled by the rage and hate that resided within me, which fueled the power of Shikaku. But after one battle…one confusing and complicated battle against another, strong, stubborn blond ninja known as Uzumaki Naruto.

"Yes, I'm fine," I spoke to my dear sister, Temari, who, despite how I used to treat her and my brother, still cared for me and my safety. The whole time we were partaking in the Chunin Exams in the Konoha village, she worried for my physical and mental safety. However, as I looked at her, I felt a sudden flush of memories protrude into my mind.

I vaguely remembered a time of long ago, a time of innocence and naïve spirits when I was only a child of the world, and didn't fear or hate the ones around me. If there ever was such a time. But I remember vaguely of a ceremony that was once held to welcome visiting feudal lords and their families. I remember well of the day the feudal lord of the Barragakura Village, the Barrakage, and his family, visited. I remember the Barrakage only had one child, a small little girl with short brown hair and shy, scared hazel green eyes. I remember of how the little child spoke shyly to me, how she hid behind her mother's legs whenever I came to greet her. I remember that child, a cute child she was, but she was not the woman I had met earlier.

In fact, I didn't remember ever meeting such a strange girl. I don't remember the Barrakage having a second daughter with black hair and silver eyes. I don't remember ever meeting this girl in my life. Yet she claimed to be the Barrakage's daughter. Could she have been lying to me? Could she have been deceiving me, like all the others who have done so in my life? Could she have…lied to me all along? If she had lied to me, I wonder if she had lied to me, as well, about the war she claimed her village was involved in…with our country.

"Kankuro, is our country at war with the Barragakure village?" I asked of my brother, who looked up immediately at me, a strange look in his eyes, as if surprised by my words.

"Yes, Gaara, not so much our village, but another along the coast. They are at war with the Barra village, don't you remember? Why?" Kankuro asked of me.

"I…I met a young woman earlier today who pleaded for our alliance to stop this war," I explained to them. "A woman who called herself Micamura Rika."

At once, fear and horror filled my siblings' faces at the mere mention of this name, though I, myself, had never heard of this strange girl. Temari at once jumped to her feet, her face pale, and her eyes bulged with horror.

"Please tell me you're kidding, Gaara. You actually met with Micamura Rika?" she asked of me.

"Yes, why?"

"Gaara, Micamura Rika is the Phoenix of the Dark Village. She's the most powerful shinobi there is in that village. She's the one who started the war!" Kankuro spoke to me. "If you had ran into her, you would've been killed, Gaara! What were you thinking?!"

"Her power is greater than mine. I wanted to challenge her, see if she really is as strong as she claimed," I spoke to them. My voice felt cold in my throat as I told them this, remembering strongly of the transparent hands that I could not see, but I felt them pierce my body and skin around me. Those…vectors…they were so powerful, so strong. There wasn't anything like them.

"Gaara, do you know why she's the 'Phoenix' of the Barra village? It's because of the same reason she's so powerful. She has vectors that are formed through her chakra, Gaara! She's able to slaughter a hundred men within an instant! You're lucky you didn't end up like that, Gaara!" Temari cried out. Tears of horror were in her eyes, as if I was the one challenging her life, her safety.

"Yes, well, I'm not, now am I? Besides, she wanted something from me, and she couldn't obtain it if I was dead. She wanted my alliance in order to prevent this war. From what it seemed, she wanted to stop the war before it traveled any further. Does that seem so horrible to you?" I asked of them.

"Well, what did you say?" Temari asked me. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know entirely of what to tell them.

"I told her I'd help her," I blurted out. I knew my siblings didn't agree with my words, or with my actions, but they had no choice but to follow through. This was my choice to make, and although they might see it as a horrible decision that would endanger our lives, in my mind, I knew I was doing the right thing. After all, Rika had spoken of innocent lives being ruined and killed, and as I thought of her words, I thought of that little girl, that shy, adorable little girl. The Barrakage's daughter, the one I could never forget….