A/N: Yay! Internet cookies! Thanks Roo17! The last chapter was tragic, wasn't it? Well, it's time to continue.
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Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this anymore? I'm running out of ways to say this without being repetitive. Whatever, I don't own Naruto.

Two Sides of the Same Kunai
Chapter 5
1 year after the last chapter...

Naruto was six years old now. He could finally go to the ninja academy! Though the Third Hokage was a bit reluctant to let Naruto go (for fear that he wouldn't be great at ninjutsu), he had promised and he couldn't just say "Oh, sorry, changed my mind. You can't go." He was the Hokage. He had to fill his promises, as a model for the village. So Naruto could go to the Ninja academy and learn... stuff. On the first day, the instructers (Iruka in particular) were surprised at how great Naruto was at taijutsu, but ninjutsu? Err... that wasn't really the best for Naruto. Naruto had the worst chakra control they had ever seen. And he couldn't improve on his own because he couldn't read!

The Chuunin instructers didn't like Naruto at all, and he was hard to teach. They liked teaching that Sasuke kid much more. He was a genius, like Orochimaru, Minato, and Kakashi had been. They could see great things in the future of that kid. He might even become Hokage!

Naruto had already become jealous of Sasuke. He had an entire clan to care for him, and a loving older brother! Of course he would do better! If they just gave him a chance, Naruto could turn out a better ninja than Sasuke. Maybe Naruto would be Hokage, not Sasuke!

This is where Naruto's dream Hokage began. He had overheard the Chuunin talking about Sasuke being Hokage when he grew up, and if they were rivals (or atleast, Naruto considered him a rival), then Naruto was determined to become Hokage first, to show everyone that he was better than Sasuke. That he could be a good ninja, and then people would look up to him. The villagers always looked up to the Hokages. The Hokages were awesome, the best of the village, and everyone respected them! Being Hokage would be the ultimate way to gain attention! Not just any kind of attention, positive attention!

That was still a long way off though. Naruto would have to make do with pranks for now. On this particular day, Naruto had decided to pull his prank on the first ninja who walked by. Then he would test his skills by getting away before the ninja could catch him. So Naruto sat on the rooftop, waiting for an ANBU or Jonin to pass by. There! That person looked like an ANBU! Naruto took his fire-cracker set, lit it, and threw it at the ANBU's feet.

Prank #194: Success

As Naruto ran across the rooftops (a needed skill for any ninja), a huge black crow with beady red eyes swooped in and encaged Naruto.

Prank #194 Escape: Failure

The oversized crow (or was it a raven?) transformed into a human being. Instead of screaming like any normal kid, Naruto decided to cuss. He'd been caught. The ANBU was a man with black hair swept into a pony tail, and two long lines shot across his face, making him look tired (well, now he looked angry, but in his normal mood, he would've looked tired). He wore a crow/raven mask, that was now being worn like a hat so we could see his face.

"Oh. It's you." Itachi calmed down. He recognized this boy, and he pitied him. "Hello, little Naruto."

Naruto backed away. "Hey, you're Sasuke's bro!"

"You're the first to say that. Usually they say to Sasuke, 'you're Itachi's little brother'".

Naruto's eyes lit up. "The first? Really? Does that make me special?"

Itachi chuckled, not darkly, but lightly. Cheerfully. "Sure. Naruto, you're very special for saying that."

Naruto beamed. "Yay!" He waved his arms and basically went insane at those words. He jumped down into the streets and ran around, looking like the happiest boy in the world.

Itachi smiled, but in a sad way. He had been on his way to meet the elders to inform them of his decision about the Uchiha massacre. Even Naruto could be happy in a village like this, and he would do anything to protect it. To protect the village, and their happiness. Seeing Naruto only reinforced his choice. All he needed to do now was plan. Plan to protect Sasuke, to insure Sasuke's future, and to try to make it bright.

That night, Itachi murdered every single person in his family, all of the Uchihas. Except one.

Sasuke.

Gaara was in great emotional pain. Not only that, but he was on the verge of losing his sanity.

On the night that Yashamaru had asked him to "Please die", Gaara, of course, did not die, whether he wanted to or not. The sand formed a shield in the form of a dome, protecting him from the kamikaze explosion. Gaara cried for a bit, but then he lost control of his anger (some of us would call it spazzing out) and sent sand flying everywhere. He tattoed the kanji "Love" on the left side of his forehead and his eyes... Well, they looked haunted. And the black rings only grew thicker from sleep deprivation.

He had decided to follow his mother's advice, because of his experience. It made sense. Love yourself, and fight for yourself, so you won't be betrayed.

And by now, Gaara had gotten over both of his obsesssions. He had learned about pain, because of Yashamaru. He now (thought he) understood the meaning/purpose of his existence, and what he was. Let's hear it in his own words...

Love only yourself... and fight only for yourself. That is what Gaara is... Me. I finally understand. I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I'm alone. Yes, I am alone.
I took the life of the woman who gave birth to me when I was born. To become the ultimate ninja, my father used a ninja technique to bind an incarnate of sand to me. I was a monster at birth. I fight only for myself, and love only myself. As long as there are people to kill in this world, I will know I exist.

To sum it up, I'd say that because everybody ignored Gaara, he didn't know if he was real or not. Who knows, he could be an illusion. So if he had the ability to end someone's life, he knew that he was a physical being.

Unfortunately, Temari and Kankuro kind of drifted away from Gaara after Uncle Yashamaru passed away. Gaara was more alone than before, and he had this conclusion that killing others could confirm his existence. He started murdering someone atleast once a week to confirm that he lived, and the Kazekage started sending Gaara on dangerous missions in hopes to get rid of this killing machine of a child. While this plan didn't work, it sated the bloodthirst that Gaara developed and prevented him from murdering the villagers. The Kazekage decided as long as Gaara could kill someone, he could prove useful. Point the killing machine in the right direction and he'll murder all my enemies. Just make sure it doesn't go the wrong way, or else we'll pay dearly.Kankuro and Temari, who were on the same team as Gaara (team Baki), were horrified at the willingness Gaara had to kill someone. They avoided getting in his way, and as a reward Gaara didn't kill them. Though he would, as soon as they start to interfere with his massacre.

Yes, Gaara didn't even consider them siblings anymore. They were just pesky little bystanders who rarely helped him. Which was a good thing. If they did help him, that usually meant Gaara needed help, and when Gaara needed help, there was a lot of screaming and the familiar posture of cradling his head with one arm. Sometimes he screamed words, or names, like "Yashamaru", "Father", "existence", "alive", "kill", "why", "love", "mother", and "pain". What usually followed these words was death. Specifically, the death of the enemy.

...Maybe, Temari and Kankuro thought, it was best they didn't interfere, even when Gaara needed help. Their jinchuuriki brother didn't really appreciate "help".