A/N: Since I'm determined to update this story frequently, I'm writing this. 3 chapters in 2 days. Wow. Completely amazed.
Thanks to CuteLikeMomiji and Roo17 for reviewing for each and every chapter (combined, that makes 6 reviews!) and for adding this story to both their favourite and alert lists. While I'm at it, thanks to tsunade senju for the favourite and Chu545 for the alert. Ok! I'm done with the thank yous now.
It looks like Gaara is in the spotlight today. I wanted to fit it all in one chapter. You'll understand later.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, because when I think about it, if I did, Matsuri wouldn't have even came into the story. Gaara can save someone else, as long as they don't become a Gaara fangirl later.

Two Sides of the Same Kunai

Chapter 4

1 year after the last chapter

Like I mentioned in the last chapter, Naruto came back to Ichiraku Ramen. A lot. Infact, because he was just five years old, the Hokage was still paying for his food. Needless to say, the Third Hokage's funds dipped quite a bit. Naruto went to Ichiraku Ramen every single day for about 184 days. And Teuchi and Ayame (his daughter) never got sick of him. They enjoyed him prescence and he became their #1 customer! The villagers had taken to calling Naruto the "Ramen Demon" and were extra careful to hide their ramen when he came near. Naruto was tempted to just follow the smell and steal their ramen anyways. In the future, he would steal the ramen. But let me explain.

Naruto was still observing other kids. But one day he saw something especially... special. He witnessed a prank. 2 boys and a whoopee cushion. Got the attention of the entire restaurant. So Naruto tried it out. If the villagers pretended he didn't exist, well, it should be easy to get close to them. With luck, they could be annoyed enough to actually pay attention! Unfortunately, his whoopee cushion failed to make a sound as it was squashed.

Prank #1: Fail

Prank #1 Escape: Success

He'd try again. Maybe something a bit more creative and... noticeable.

For his second prank, Naruto decided to throw water balloons at ninja coming into the Hokage's office. Okay, it wasn't that much more creative, but it was defintely noticeable. How do you ignore the fact that you're suddenly soaking wet on a bright sunny day?

Prank #2: Success

However, with the arrival of the success came too much attention. Ticked off Jonin and Chuunin hunted Naruto down and dunked him into a hot spring.

Prank #2 Escape: Failure

The shinobi told the Hokage too, so now the villagers weren't allowed to sell anything to Naruto, unless they got special permission from the Hokage. The Hokage would have to personally choose everything Naruto got for now. And maybe he wouldn't let Naruto come to Ichiraku for a while. Just until he got more money saved up.

So with even shop owners neglecting Naruto, he became more isolated than ever (well, atleast he learned the... valued skill of stealing). He cried more in public, when everybody would turn their back to him and ignore him. In one of these particular moments, however, a little pink-haired girl looked back at Naruto and tried to comfort him. Her mother dragged her back, but not before Naruto caught a glimpse of her.

Despite his new acquaintances with his uncle and siblings, they were too busy to play with him. His uncle had to help the Kazekage arrange stuff, and his siblings were starting to go on D-Rank and C-Rank missions. Gaara was still lonely.

His favourite place to be was the swing. You only needed one person to have fun on it, even if you got sick after a while. On a swing, you could dream that you're in a different world. You could pretend you're flying.

On one day that he was on the swing holding his beloved teddy bear (that Yashamaru, Kankuro, and Temari had given him), the usually abandoned playground was full of children, playing soccer. Apparently they had failed to notice Gaara sitting on the swing. Gaara watched them for a while, and then one of the boys kicked the ball up onto a roof. They watched in horror as their precious soccer ball sailed high into the air, and then with shock and terror as sand went to retrieve it and come back down. Sand!

When the soccer ball landed gently in Gaara's hands and he was going to ask them if he could play, the kids screamed and ran for it.

"Wait! Don't leave me alone!" He shouted desperately, but they didn't stop.

It was the perfect situation for one of his fits.

Gaara lashed out his anger and arms of sand tripped about half of the kids. One of the sporty girls was closest to him, and he whipped sand at her. Suddenly Uncle Yashamaru was there, blocking the attack and bleeding. Immediately Gaara's anger disappeared. He couldn't have hurt one of his treasured ones... hurt one of the people who love him...

"Gaara, please calm down!"

Gaara looked down in shame and sorrow.

~Later~

Gaara was in his room, even more sad today because he had hurt Uncle Yashamaru, one of the ones who cared for him. One of his precious people. So he tried something that he was too scared to do before. Looking at his mother's photograph, he took a knife and tried to stab his arm with it.

"It's no use, the sand interferes." Gaara said sullenly.

"Gaara."

Gaara turned around. "Yashamaru!"

Uncle Yashamaru appeared in the door way and walked in his room.

"I was ordered by the Kazekage to be your care-taker. I am to keep an eye on your health and protect you. Please don't do such a thing in front of me."

Gaara looked down.

"Then again," Yashamaru said as he rubbed the back of his head, "The sand will protect you."

Gaara look up only too see Yashamaru's bandages, then looked at the floor. "Yashamaru, I'm sorry."

Yashamaru drew his hand back to pat his forehead. "Oh, this? It's just a scratch."

Gaara flicked his eyes up while still keeping his head down. "Do wounds hurt?"

Yashamaru smiled a little and answered, "Just a little. It will heal quickly though."

Gaara looked up at him as if to say, "Really?" Instead he asked, "Yashamaru...?"

"Yes?"

"What does pain feel like? I've never been hurt before, so I was wondering how it felt...

Yashamaru looked grave. "Mmm... How should I explain this... It's painful and unbearable... Like, when a person is shot or cut, he becomes very ill at ease and he can't think normally." Yashamaru smiled sheepishly. "I cant explain it well, but simply put, it's not a very good condition to be in."

Gaara looked again at Yashamaru's bandages. "Yashamaru."

"Yes?"

"Then, do you hate me, Yashamaru?" Gaara couldn't meet Yashamaru's eyes. He looked so genuinely sad!

Yashamaru picked his words carefully. "People hurt eachother and get hurt during their lifetimes, but it is difficult to hate another." He smiled.

Gaara beamed at Yashamaru. "Thanks, Yashamaru! I think I understand what hurting is now!"

"Really?"

Gaara closed his eyes and thought hard. "Maybe I'm injured, too, like everyone else. I always hurt here..." Gaara grabbed at the cloth over where his heart was. "I'm not bleeding, but my chest really hurts here."

Yashamaru took the knife that Gaara was holding, and slit the ring finger on his right hand. "Flesh wounds bleed, and they may seem painful, but as time goes by the pain eventually disappears. And if you use medicine, it heals even faster. But the tricky wounds are the ones in your heart." Yashamaru raised a hand over his heart. "Those are difficult to heal."

Gaara was taken aback with this knowledge. "A wound of the heart?"

"A wound of the heart is different from a flesh wound. Unlike a flesh wound, there are no ointments to heal it, and there are times when they never heal."

Gaara clutched his heart again.

"But there is one thing that can heal a wound of the heart." Yashamaru said to cheer Gaara up. He looked up at Yashamaru with hope.

"It is a troublesome medicine," Yashamaru continued, "and you can only receive it from another person." He looked at Karura's picture.

"What? How can I heal this...?" Gaara asked fervently.

"The thing can cure a wound of the heart is... love."

"Love?"

"Yes."

"How can I get that? What should I do to get rid of this pain?"

"Gaara, you have already received it. Love is the spirit of devoting yourself to someone important and close to you. It is expressed by caring for and protecting that person. Just like my sister. I believe that my sister always loved you, Gaara. The Shukaku of the Sand is a living soul that is usually used for combat purposes. The sand automatically protects you because of love. I believe the will of your mother is inside the sand. My sister probably wanted to protect you, even after her death."

"Yashamaru."

"Yes?"

"Thanks back there... for stopping me."

Yashamaru put his finger in his mouth. "My pleasure. You are a person who is important and close to me after all, Gaara."

Gaara put his mouth over Yashamaru's finger (he looked so cute right then!). Yashamaru's face was unfathomable.

Can you feel my pain?, Yashamaru thought.

"It tastes like metal." Gaara stated simply.

~The Next Day~

Gaara ran through the village, clutching a paper bag. He thought back to yesterday's conversation with Yashamaru. "Hey, Yashamaru. I have a favour to ask." Gaara had said.

"What is it?" Yashamaru asked patiently.

"I want ointment." Gaara had replied.

Gaara arrived at the house. He knocked twice and waited. The girl that he had hurt earlier answered the door, and paled when she saw Gaara.

"I'm sorry about before. It hurt, right? Here, this is ointment. Use it if you want..." He held out the bag.

"Go home!" She snapped crossly. "Monster!"

Gaara's face fell. He looked horrified. He dropped the paper bag at the door and trudged back home. On the way, a drunken man passed by Gaara and almost hit him in the head with a bottle.

"What the... Be careful." He grunted.

Gaara turned his head around slowly. The man's face snapped alert. "You're...!" He choked out.

Gaara's eyes widened in anger. Again, He thought. Those eyes again... Why...? Why!?

The man moved away slightly, frightened even more by the sand now swirling around him.

Screams broke through the air, along with the sound of a beer bottle smashing against the floor.

As Gaara continued on his way, villagers started gathering. "What...? What happened?" They asked one another. "It's Gaara!" They answered back. Gaara just ignored them. Stupid haters.

Gaara passed by the Kazekage, leaning against a pillar supporting one of the buildings. The Kazekage looked down at him with angry disappointment, and, ashamed, Gaara walked away.

That night, Gaara hung out on the roof top. He wanted to be away from his family for a while and just be alone to think and pout.

It didn't go well... He brooded, Why am I the only one who is a monster? What am I? And he started crying.

A minute later, kunai flew at Gaara, almost catching him off guard, but the sand formed into a wall behind Gaara at the last second, blocking all the kunai.

He turned around and saw a ninja dressed in the Suna style, with cloth covering his head and his face. What? Gaara thought. Why? Why do I... Why am I the only one who has to go through all of this!?

He prepared to fight, and the ninja threw more kunai at him. The sand blocked it in the same fashion, then encased the ninja in a coccoon. The sand lifted it higher into the air, then Gaara closed his outstretched hand into a fist. The sand compress tightly, then expanded. Then the sand released the body and Gaara stepped forward, frightened, but curious to who this assassin was.

"Who are you? Why...?" Then Gaara noticed something. One of the assassin's fingers were bandaged. The ring finger on the right hand.

Gaara gulped and hesistantly pulled off the cloth masking the ninja.

Yashamaru. Gaara's world just fell apart.

"You are strong, as I expected..." Yashamaru said, with blood streaming down his face. "Gaara."

"Yashamaru!" Gaara screamed, as he clutched his heart with one hand and cradled his head with the other. He cried beside Yashamaru, waiting for him to say something.

"Why... Why? Yashamaru, why did you... Why?" Gaara repeated. "Why?" He wiped away his tears. "You... You... I thought that you were..."

"It was an order." Yashamaru stated. "I was ordered to kill you, by your father, the Kazekage."

"Father did...?" The tears flowed again. "Father? Why? Why me?"

"You were born with the Shukaku of the Sand, and then observed like a guinea pig, Gaara." Yashamaru revealed. "But since you could not control the power of the living soul, Shukaku, and were unable to manipulate the sand on your own... Your existence was deemed a danger to the village." He even used Gaara's favourite word, existence, to make the blow have more effect. "Before that happened."

"Then you did this unwillingly because Father ordered you to..." Gaara looked up in hope.

"No, that is not correct." Cruel Yashamaru. Crushing hopes like that. "It is true that I received the order from Kazekage, but I could've refused if I had wished to. Gaara... Deep within my heart, I hated you. You took the beloved life of my sister when you were born. My sister's memento. I tried to love you by thinking of you as her treasured child, but I couldn't. My sister did not wish for your birth. She became this village's sacrifice, and she died cursing this village. After that, I carried a wound that could never heal. My sister gave you your name... 'This child's name is Gaara. A demon that loves himself.' Love only yourself. And fight only for yourself. By doing so, you can continue to exist. Your name carries those wishes. But my sister did not give the name because she cared for you or loved you. She gave you that name so you could continue to exist because she hated and cursed this village as she died, and she wanted her deep hatred to exist and remain to let others know of it. You were not loved."

Yashamaru opened his vest to reveal a bunch of explosive tags. "This is it. Please die."

And a huge explosion rocked the village.