Disclaimer: I'm not a guy. Go figure.

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For those who watched ep 76-77. Just some food for thought.

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The ball seemed to float down the huge grated wall by a will of its own. As it descended slowly, the children could see a soft embracing layer of sand surrounding it, and a childlike form of a small boy emerged from the dust on the ground that had been disturbed by his entry.

The looks upon the children's faces changed drastically – from naïve wonder to pure horror.

He was a mere child of 6, yet the children on the Sand looked upon him as if his very existence was a curse to their beloved village.

'It's . . . him!' He could never, for the life of him, understand what they meant whenever they addressed him as if he were an individual. Wasn't he one of them as well?

'Run!'

Why? Why do you keep running? He reached out to grab hold of one of the children, but she wrenched her arm away from him. Her eyes reflected the very essence of fear, and she stumbled aimlessly through the thick mist that had formed so suddenly.

The rest of the children were frozen in fear, mouths open slightly.

Only one of them appeared calm. She was a little taller than him, easily a year older than he was. She reminded him of his older sister, Temari, but then again, maybe not. He remembered Temari's down-turned frown and cold, hazel eyes.

This girl's eyes were different.

They understood him.

She had walked forward, and had bent down to face him. Behind her, yells of 'What are you doing?!' and 'Rai! Come back! Haven't you heard?' echoed between the two grated walls, yet she ignored them.

'Gaara, ne?' Her questioning statement shook him out of his thoughts.

'H-hai. Kimi wa . . . dare?'

She laughed, throwing her head back. He took in her dark brown hair that was pulled back in a loose French braid and smiled wanly for the first time that night.

'Watashi wa Raisetsu. Call me Rai.'

He stuttered, lost for words. Why was she being so nice to him?

He forced himself to look at her in the eye, but she had already ran back to her friends. Was she running away again?

The girl he had tried to grab hold of was back, but now next to Rai. She still wore a look of uncertainty that made him nervous.

'See, he's not as bad as the stories say.'

What stories? What did they say about him?

'Rai, I don't like this. Let's go back home.'

'He's only a child, Megumi!'

Only a child.

The girl named Megumi fixed a harsh glare at her sister, then back at Gaara.

'He's a monster.'

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A half-scream was heard throughout the dullness of the Hidden Village of Sand, followed by another.

A figure clad in Chuunin attire glanced back down at the head of the young girl, her dark brown hair soaked in blood.

Too bad her precious Gaara couldn't see her now.

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'I tried . . . '

Gaara wrapped his arms around his legs, and shivered from the cold. The girl named Megumi had slammed the door on his face. Again.

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A few minutes later, a hysterical Gaara was seen crouching next to a beaten up figure in a Chuunin suit.

'Yashamaru . . . naze?'

The Chuunin just smiled.

'Demo . . . ' A little bit of hope stirred in Gaara's young mind. 'You were forced to, right?'

'Iie.'

Silence engulfed the two of them.

'She's gone too, Gaara-sama. Both of them.'

It was only when he had revealed the numerous explosive notes on his body that Gaara understood.

He must never be loved.

Alone in his wall of sand of solitude, Gaara wept for the people who had died for him.

And then he wept for himself.

After all, he was only a child.

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- end -