Sun bit into his eyes, so bright. Somehow it seemed harsher here than in the desert his home. The desert was never harsh on the Shinobi; he was Gaara of the Sand.
Faceless people passed him. He had no interest in innocent people; they were no challenge. They couldn't bring any interest or meaning to his life. So he let them go about their lives, never realising the carnage he could unleash on them if he so chose.
His walk was not without purpose, although it may have seemed so to anyone watching. Gaara walked without fear, but with a wary eye cocked over his shoulder.
Someone was trailing him. And in Gaara's experience, that was rarely a good thing.
He confronted the stalker in an empty alleyway. He had no real desire to cause a diplomatic incident by killing in Konoha village, but it would bring him a measure of relief. And it wasn't like he was opposed to killing. This convenient gap between buildings afforded him privacy where there would have been none in his home village.
He waited for a few moments for his tail to round the corner, growing impatient. If he took ten more seconds, he decided idly, he would kill him on sight. Luckily, he didn't have to wait that long.
An outrageously-dressed man jumped around the bend, rushed up to Gaara and began screaming at him. The Shinobi was too shocked even to use one of his powerful jutsus against the strange apparition. After a moment, he appeared to calm, and took a step back.
"Allow me to introduce myself! I am Pinto, Pinto the Priest!"
"My name is Gaara of the Sand," Gaara answered automatically, amused by the strange man.
"You need my help!" the priest insisted, hopping from one foot to the other. "Powerful priest, I am. I can help you very much!"
"How can you help me?" Gaara asked, humouring the man.
"You wish to be free of demon! I know!" The man said, waggling a finger at Gaara. The Shinobi's budding smile disappeared. "Come with me! I show you how!" With that, Pinto spun and left the alley without looking back.
Gaara followed slowly. Could this be real? And even if it was, would he really send Shukaku away? Was there anything left in life for him other than murder?
Probably not, he decided, but it would mean nothing to follow the funny little man and see what he would do. He was in no hurry to be anywhere, after all.
He caught up with Pinto a block away, continuing his hyperactive dance on the street corner. "Come along, come on!" the priest cried, waving his arms widely towards Gaara. "No time to waste!"
Gaara followed the man into a building he hadn't noticed passing; a tall, ornate cathedral. He hadn't expected this from the appearance of the man, and the sight of the imposing cathedral was a sobering one. Nevertheless, Pinto bounded up the stairs and motioned him in. Despite himself, Gaara obeyed with a smile.
The funny little man told Gaara to kneel before the altar and close his eyes. He did that, humouring the man, knowing he would never be able to exorcise Shukaku. Alone in the cathedral, the priest cavorted and danced around Gaara, his voice rising and falling in prayer. Despite his scepticism, Gaara felt Shukaku's displeasure at this situation most keenly. He was intrigued—surely the demon wasn't worried by the bumbling priest?
Pinto stopped suddenly, flicking holy water at him from a tiny bottle. Naturally, sand intercepted the drops, sending the priest further into a frenzy. His prayers rose and fell, rose to yet another crescendo, and gradually died away altogether. Gaara knelt in silence for a while before tiring of the game, and opening his eyes.
The long blade of a sword darted in at his face.
He didn't scream. Gaara didn't know fear as other people understood it. But his eyes narrowed as the sword came in, and the sand rose to catch it. The priest gasped, the momentum of his attack fully halted.
"Why?" Gaara demanded, ice nipping at the sides of his heart at the betrayal of trust.
"You want to kill me!" the priest shrieked.
"I did you no harm!" Gaara snapped back, more emotion than he had shown for months at a time in his voice. "Why did you attack me?"
"Don't you want to take my blood, fiend?" Pinto shouted in reply, flailing away with the sword. Sand caught the blow every time, but did nothing to diffuse his energy. He gashed at his own arm with the blade, flicking the droplets at Gaara as if they were weapons. "Drink it! Will a high priest's blood hurt you, demon?" the fanatic howled.
Gaara recoiled, raising his arms to defend himself. Stupid; that was what the sand was for. "What are you doing? I'm not a demon!"
"I see through your lies!" Pinto spat. Tiny chunks of sand intercepted even the gobs of spittle that flew towards Gaara with those words. "I will give my life to hurt you!"
In that moment, Gaara knew the man was mad. Shukaku was screaming for the priest's death, and Gaara didn't particularly want to stop him.
The man was doomed.
Gaara looked him squarely in the eye, quieting him long enough to hear his words. "You tried to take Shukaku away." Sand rose up about him like desert flames. "You tried to make me alone again." The sand congealed into a massive fist in front of him. "You tried to... hurt me!" The last two words came out as an open snarl, as Shukaku's fist slammed into the priest. He screamed once as the sand engulfed him, swallowed him quickly. The great fist of sand closed over the man and squeezed once, convulsively. There was no sound from within, but blood soaked the sand as it flowed back to Gaara, seeping into his gourd as if satisfied with its work. He clearly heard Shukaku's laughter, the rumbling quiet waves shaking his diminutive frame.
He wasn't worth the time, Gaara agreed silently with the demon's sentiments.
He presumed to attack me directly, Shukaku corrected. Baka. You forget that I was also a priest, little one. Holiness is a deceit. Power is all a human can strive for.
But despite the demon's dismissive words, Gaara sensed that he had indeed been weakened in the battle with the priest. For a moment, the Sand-nin wondered if he had made a terrible mistake in his fury; wondered if he had destroyed his chance to be free of the mighty demon.
No matter, he decided. He had lived with Shukaku this long. He could stand to live a little longer.
Gaara returned to the Konoha village street, but the sun didn't seem so bright anymore, in the wake of the betrayal. Casting one burning glare behind him at the cathedral, he headed towards the Academy and the solace of his private room.
Unknown to him, three Genins skipped away from the broken roof of the cathedral where they had witnessed the entire incident. All had seen the death of a powerful holy man, but with eyes sharpened by the Byakugan, Hinata Hyuuga had seen still more than that.
Her pupil-less eyes now looked down, pondering the horrifying image. A great demon head had lunged at the priest, concealed in the sand, not really there, present in the same way Chakra was present... had bitten down on the priest and let out an unholy laugh.
Shukaku didn't kill for food. Shukaku didn't even kill for pleasure. Although she knew nothing about the demon, Hinata suspected at that moment that Shukaku didn't even know why it killed.
But Akamaru, the disturbingly clever puppy, had caught a scent which sent him crawling into his owner's hood in fear. Recognising Gaara from the Konoha training grounds, the trio had decided to follow the Sand-nin, curious about his nature and hoping to discover a clue about his true powers.
That question had been answered in a way none of them had expected. Although they all felt shocked and angry at Pinto's death, none was willing to confront Gaara on the spot. So now they headed back to the Academy, to inform their superiors about the murdered priest.