A/N: Hello! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update but you guys are all awesome! Thank you so much for the reviews! They make me feel so happy! Anyway, I had a bit of trouble with this chapter so if it sucks, that's probably why. By the way, the poem at the beginning was written by me when I was nine! Aw! Little people trying to be poetic! (That's why it sucks)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the song Listen To Your Heart by Roxette but this version is the DHT slow version. Or any other copyrighted material that may or may not feature in the following.

Enjoy!

"Are there soul mates for the ugly?

Are there swords for the weak?

If there is a god, where is he?

Will we find him if we seek?

My love, the sin for which I'll burn,

Could earn me feathery wings.

If he were a maiden fair,

Complete with those girly things.

But then our lust would dissipate,

And our love could be no more.

So, for our love, I'll burn in hell,

Condemned by biblical lore.

How is it wrong to love?

And how on Earth can you tell?

Is it by sight? Or touch?

Perhaps determined by smell?

Who decides what's wrong or right?

And how the hell do they know?

What makes such an old book so good,

When I thought it sucked ages ago?

All these things I have pondered,

And thus this poem was made!

It may seem spiteful and sad,

And you may want it to fade,

But remember what you know,

About what is just and fair,

And think on what my poem says.

And may your perceptions clear!" D'gani finished reading his poem with a flourish and the class clapped uncertainly. They weren't quite sure what to make of that and so merely smiled and nodded, as their parents had taught them to do in such situations.

"Thank you, D'gani. The poem certainly was...opinionated," The teacher said as D'gani sat back down. Gaara just stared out the window. They had been supposed to work in pairs but he hadn't been paying any attention so D'gani had written the poem. Not that he complained. Gaara hadn't been doing any work at all recently, instead writing out Nightwish lyrics into his book or staring out the window. It had been two weeks since Neji had defended Gaara from the boys in the hall and neither had said a word to the other in the intervening time. They would have to soon though, as their performance of the scene from The Princess Bride would be that Friday. Neji was no longer in a cast, Gaara had noticed and felt a twinge of pain as he thought of the agreement they had made that when Neji got his cast off, he and Gaara would have sex in an even stranger place than a bathtub.
The bell rang and Gaara slowly stood up and began to make his way over to the door but the teacher called him back.

"Gaara, is there something wrong?" She asked him concernedly. "You seem to be terribly depressed over something. What happened?" Gaara didn't look at her as he replied, as he had done for the past week, with a Nightwish lyric.

"All I wish is to dream again." Without another word, Gaara walked out of the classroom, leaving a concerned and somewhat bemused teacher in his wake.

Gaara and Neji faced each other in Performing Arts that day. They rehearsed their lines, Gaara monotonously and Neji with a miserable dejectedness. The class dragged on and on in such a manner until they were finally released from their torment. Gaara walked with D'gani, completely ignoring his friend. His other friends, unable to take his indifferent apathy towards everything, were now avoiding him. Even Haku made excuses at Gaara's approach. Gaara knew he deserved it and was sure that D'gani, too, would tire of his endless silence and cold demeanour. But his friend stayed with him and so they moved about in silence.

Gaara had in no way gotten over Neji, or even tried. He had instead distanced himself from his emotions entirely, in effect blocking all feeling more decidedly than the strongest of anaesthesia. With his emotions had gone his will to speak or even do more than move mechanically. Seeing his friend like this distressed D'gani to the point of him suffering from a perpetual migraine. Yet he continued to stand by Gaara and rarely left his side. He was so caught up with worrying about Gaara; he had completely failed to notice the letters that were piling up inside his locker. Each day another would appear but D'gani wouldn't even glance at it, too busy trying to get his books quickly so as not to let Gaara out of his sight. He somehow managed to fit practicing for his own performance with Sasuke around his near-constant supervision of the redhead. He was so stressed he had begun to lose his appetite and sleep. This couldn't go on.

Gaara, even through his distancing shield, was starting to get frustrated by D'gani's constant worrying. He didn't like to see his friend so cut up over anything. Or, a small voice in his head said quietly, is it that you want him gone so you can be alone and do something to escape? He, as always, calmly pushed this voice back and ignored it. He was slightly concerned about D'gani's stress level as well. Sooner or later, he'd crack. Gaara didn't want that, regardless of how apathetic he seemed, he still cared enough for that small mercy. Perhaps he should just try to escape...

Gaara walked down the stairs and into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. Instantly, he felt his shield begin to break down as if the mere sight of himself so cold reminded him of something...That was it! The empty look in his eyes, the dispassionate stare; he looked just like his mother had before she died. He sighed as a flood of memories came flooding back to him, making him almost physically stagger with the sheer force of them.

Flashback

Gaara stared as his mother completely ignored Kankuro's complaints that Gaara had kicked him before, to get out of having to take a bath. Karura just stared blankly past her oldest son and right through Gaara before uttering three simple words. "Gaara, come here."

"What is it, mum?" Gaara asked as he approached his mother's chair. She stood up and took hold of his little six-year-old hand.

"Come with me," She said with a smile and lead him up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and put Gaara up on the bed before walking over to her radio and putting it on, turning the volume up to its maximum. She then locked the door and sat next to Gaara, who, by this time had realised there was something wrong with his mother. The song Hurt done by Johnny Cash came on the radio and Gaara nearly had to shout to be heard over it.

"Mum! W-why is the m-music so loud?" Gaara asked his mother with a pleading look in his eyes. She just smiled a sad, lonely smile.

"Gaara, I want you to promise me that, no matter what happens, you'll always remember me. You'll always love me. You'll forgive me for what I'm about to do and you'll not hate your father for what he has done. Can you do that?"

Gaara nodded slowly and was about to ask a question but he was shushed by his mother. She then gave him a kiss on his left temple and got several things out from underneath the bed; a bowl with some strong-smelling disinfectant in it, a white bone with sharp teeth at one end, a white towel, a small hammer, some rubber gloves and a container with blood-red liquid in it. Karura pulled the gloves on and dabbed some of the disinfectant on the place she had just kissed, then readied the towel and picked up the bone and the small hammer.

"Stay still sweetie. It'll all be over soon." Karura whispered to her son as she dipped the bone's three points in the red ink and placed them at Gaara's disinfected skin. She brought the little hammer down on the bone, pushing the ink-covered points deep into Gaara's flesh. He howled with pain and tried to struggle but his mother just pinned him down with her body and continued her work, wiping away the excess ink with a rubber encased finger. Gaara cried silently as his mother meticulously tattooed the kanji "ai" onto her son's left temple.

With one last tap of the hammer, and wiping of fingers over unused ink, the character was complete. Karura sighed contentedly; now no one could take her Gaara's love away from her. "Gaara, this letter "ai" symbolizes the love you must have for me, for yourself and for your family. It should remind you of what's important, whenever you seek guidance. I'm sorry and I love you. Never forget that." Here she paused to hug him tightly. "Now, Gaara, I want you to go downstairs and take that bath that Kankuro wants you to. I think I'll have a little nap." Gaara, very much confused, climbed off the bed and went down to Kankuro who hugged his younger brother close. Neither said a word about the tattoo on Gaara's head. Half an hour later, Gaara went upstairs to find himself unable to wake his mother.

The next day, Gaara's father told him that she had had a stroke, but the look in his eyes told Gaara that he was lying. Gaara had known something was wrong as soon as his mother had refused to let him have a sip of her hot chocolate, the day before. At the funeral, Gaara didn't shed a single tear. His pain was beyond tears, they seemed a far too superficial way to express his loss. He instead sat in front of her grave, everyday after school, for three years.

End Flashback

Gaara shuddered at the remembrance of such things. He stared once more at the mirror and thought about how easy it would be for him to end everything the way his mother had. How simple it would be to just go get Zabuza's sleeping pills and run away from all his problems. So easy. Far too easy. Why had no one thought that Gaara might try something like that? Or was it that they just didn't care? Caught by this new thought, Gaara opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the packet of little white capsules. Neji didn't love him anymore. None of his friends cared enough to try to stop him or even be around him. His siblings hadn't called in weeks. His father hated him. His mother had killed herself rather than spend anymore time with him. There was just nothing left. Just as he was about to pop the first pill out of its packaging, he heard someone playing the piano in the living room. Singing soon followed.

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile.

I get a notion from the look in your eyes. Yeah.

You've built a love, but that love falls apart.

Your little piece of heaven turns to dark.

Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you.

Listen to your heat, there's nothing else you can do.

I don't know where you're going, and I don‎t know why.

But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye"

Gaara stared at the pills in his hand as D'gani's voice surrounded him with its ethereal beauty. His eyes flicked up to the mirror and caught sight of the "ai" tattoo. This was wrong.

"Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.

The precious moments are all lost in the tide.

They're swept away and nothing is what it seems,

A feeling of belonging to your dreams.

Listen to your heart when he's calling for you

Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do

I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why

But listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye."

Gaara stumbled into the living room and watched D'gani's talented fingers dance across a checkerboard of keys as he played the instrumental part of the song. Tears began to stream down Gaara's cheeks unbidden as he pictured Neji. No Tenten this time. Just Neji. He hadn't been able to do that since it had happened.

"And there are voices that want to be heard.

So much to mention, but you can't find the words.

Listen to magic, the beauty that's been.

When love was wilder, than the wind.

Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you.

Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do.

I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why

But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye.

Listen to your heart, mmm mmm.

I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why

But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye."

Gaara walked over to D'gani and hugged him as the music faded. "Thank you." He whispered. He felt so much better. He had faced his emotions... and survived. Maybe now, thanks to a mother and a best friend's love, he could find the strength to forgive him. Neji.

A/N: Okay, so I'm sorry it's so short but at least I updated! It's a little crappy, but I like it for some reason. Anyway, I promise it'll get happier soon! Please review! I'll give you a...Yeah no I have nothing. I'll steal Kagurazaka from Rikkls and whoever writes the longest review can have him! Hides from scary Rikkls It's not nice to attack your Baa-chan!