Hello!

Finally it's Gaara's turn!!!! XD I know I've waited, but I had to think about the sentences for Baki :P

It is the first time I've placed my two favourite characters together, in this fiction, haha! Oh, a little warning on a hint of a spoiler from the chapters of Pein's attack on Konoha - you've been warned (it's nothing much but still).

Ja ne,
Temari 88 :)

THINGS HAPPENING TO…

GAARA

Little Gaara always felt extremely alone. Because of the demon that had been sealed inside his small body, the members of Suna's council had decided it would have been best to keep the boy separated from others his age… thus the red-haired child was prohibited to interact in any way with his brother and sister (he knew they existed, but he'd never actually seen them); the only person he ever saw was his uncle, Yashamaru, who was gentle and caring.

Gaara sometimes wasn't sure the whole 'demon' thing was true: he didn't really feel strange; the things that could have proved it were the fact that sand would appear out of nowhere - and that he could control it – and the fact that he could not sleep… but, as far as the little boy knew, sand always seemed to be 'fascinated' by him (he remembered that once, he was no older than three years old, sand had tried to bury him alive for who-knows-what-reason).

Now, Gaara was by no means stupid but, as most children, he was naïve and fairly untainted – the unintentional kills didn't count – so his uncle's betrayal was a shock… the young Jinchuuriki had lost his only 'paternal reference' and the only person that had bothered to stick around (let's not dwell on the reasons…) and after the man's death, Gaara was left to cope with a deep grief… he needed someone to help him get through…

What a better chance, for Shukaku (who had kept silent all those years) to make his appearance??

"… Gaara…"

"UH? What—?! What's this voice?!"

"… Gaara… do you know who I am…?"

"Aaah!! Who's this?!" the boy had his hands over his ears and was looking around.

"Don't yell, damn it!! I'm not deaf, yanno!"

"… Uuuh… sorry?? Who are you, anyway?"

"Cough, cough… I'm Shu—I mean… I'm your mother~~~!" the last part was said in a tone that tried to resemble the one used by ghosts. "From now on, you'll do what I'll tell you~~"

"What?! NO!"

"Don't argue! You'll follow my orders and that's final!!"

"What a bitch…" mumbled the boy.

"I heard ya!!"

"Like I care…!"

"……" Shukaku growled internally before smirking. "Say Gaara… how about I go away and leave you alone…?"

"NO!! Please, I have no one…"

So, after this first encounter, Gaara started doing everything Shukaku – disguised as the boy's mother – said, without arguing further because he didn't want to be left on his own once again. With the demon's help, Gaara soon became even more feared due to his 'spontaneous' killing sprees and cruel jokes (like kidnapping a woman and bind her, head down, to a tree-branch for two days, or destroying the wall of the changing rooms on the pool, or blackmailing Baki after he found the man bent over a hentai magazine).

-x-

"… So I was in front of the sealed gates an' I was desperate, y'know… I jus' wanted to have answers… so when Kyuubi told me to let him take care of everything and take off the seal… it seemed to make sense…"

"That was pretty stupid, thinking you could trust a demon…"

"Yeah, well, it was the first time… I didn't know what to do; I couldn't help it…"

"… You're so naïve…"

"……"

"What…?"

"Look who's talking! I won't let you tell me that: I wasn't the one doing the most stupid things just cuz I believed a demon that told me he was my mother…!"

"I've never believed it when Shukaku said he was my mother...!!"

"Yeah, right, keep lying to yourself..."

10 things you'll never hear coming from: Gaara

1) "My childhood was the best in the world!"

2) "Uchiha and me are very close friends, you know…"

3) "I get laid more than Kakashi and Jiraya put together." [winking]

4) "Shukaku wasn't bad, he just needed to be loved…"

5) "I've never believed it when Shukaku said he was my mother; I did not kill all that people 'cause I believed it!" [flustered and sputtering]

6) "I hate sand. It gets everywhere. Like hell I'll ever use a SAND armour."

7) "… You're hurting my feelings…"

8) "My father was the kindest of all, I miss him so much…"

9) "I'm a great fan of Sailor Moon! I have a special room devoted to items from the anime!!" [inspiration came from endama's fanfic 'My boyfriend, the Otaku' :D]

10) "OMG! I just love RAINBOWS and PUPPY-DOGS and GLITTER and, most of all, the color PINK!!!" [kindly suggested by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare: thanks XD]