MONSTER

He was silent on the day they decided his fate.

Simply sitting alone with a three metre radius of clear ground surrounding him as others attempted to avoid the very dirt on which he seven year old was apathetic towards this pathetic act of cowardice. He was used to it. ( But YOU don't like it! So why put up with it? Why not just slaughter them all? That would prove your existence! Shukaku had whispered lovingly in his ear )

His father had stood before him, the Suna shinobi council arrayed behind him with a vicious smirk splayed across his face. However, Gaara hadn't reacted. Even as the agreement was signed, even as Gaaras 'fate' (there was no such thing as fate, he had mused inwardly) His face had not expressed a single emotion, the tattooed kanji for love carved in blood upon his forehead seemingly leering with an omnious glow. And so it was decided that gaara (no last name- he was not worthy ) would leave for Konoha the next morning as part of a treaty between the two villages.

And so the leaf gained a second jinchuriki.

NOT ALONE

When Gaara arrived in the 'strongest' shinobi village their was an uproar as people tried to decide where to 'put' him.

Within the first day Minato Namikaze, a look of upmost contempt on his face throughout the entire process, had adjusted the seal so as to truly keep Shukaku at bay. This did not, however, prevent Shukaku from speaking to Gaara within his mind, only dulling down the sand tanuki's influence. As such Gaara still rarely slept (the insomnia was as natural to him as breathing he had laughed bitterly to himself )

Everything had changed when Gaara had arrived at his new permanent residance. The Uzumaki-Namikaze clan compound. The compound measured up to be almost the size of the Uchiha complex (the Namikaze's insatiable greed, shukaku had spoken ) with several outbuildings. It was within one such outbuilding that he was placed. Kushina not wanting him to have any influence over the twins. He didn't care. (He wanted no part in their family anyway, he had sneered to himself )

It wasn't until a week after his placement that he realised someone else was staying within the same residance as him. He could not deny his shock on the day he had first seen the girl who it seemed he was, living? With. It was obvious that she was kin to Kushina and Minato just grom her facial features and with her being a similar age to him the twins he had seen before where most likely in all actuality triplets. So why would the Yondaime place this girl so far away? They had both stood (for nearly five minutes ) inwardly musing over why the other was present befor she had spoken. Introducing herself as Naruto and he had likewise spoken his name. Neither had enunciated their last names.

And then she had said it. And for the first time ever Gaara had realised he was not truly alone.

"So you are a jinchuriki too." Her gaze had remained locked to his even as teal widened and sand twisted uneasily around his feet. Following this she simply bowed to him before gripping the hem of her black shirt and looking downward. Bangs casting shadows over her eyes. She then continued, voice quiet and meek,

"I am nine. You are one."

And he had understood. After all it took a monster to know one.

NOT ALONE.

After that moment they had been literally conjoined (much to Minato's not so secret ire ) at the hip with him joining her and Itachi on their weekly joint training sessions, fitting in perfectly within the semantics.

Itachi himself got on pleasantly with Gaara as both had the view of taking it slowly and wearing masks crafted from pure 'lack of' emotions,(although at times Itachi was rather aggravated with Gaara's rather obvious bloodlust )

Gaara was rather suprised to discover that- half a year later,

He was happy.

(And if that happiness meant curling up with Naruto as night terrors struck and reduced the rather emotionally driven girl to tears then so be it )

(He couldn't say he didn't like it )