Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters!
Please Enjoy!
Gaara sat in the same place as he had for the past few weeks, waiting for his blonde mentor. He felt almost… Anxious? Maybe that was it…. Perhaps he felt it because he thought maybe the blonde knew the truth? No…. No that wasn't it. There was no way the blonde could tell.
Through all of their training, he'd been completely oblivious and Gaara simply recorded information. He found out quite a bit. But tonight, his master gave him a direct order. Something specific that he wanted to know. What are the Hunter's morals? He supposed that it was because if he knew the morals, it would be easier to torment them. Torment. Torture. His master's favourite thing was torturing the filthy Hunters after he caught them.
Then an image popped into his head. His master tormenting Naruto. It made his stomach twist and turn is horrid ways. He clasped a pale hand over his mouth and frowned. He forced the bile to go back down, less he vomit all over the place just before Naruto arrived. He clenched Naruto's jacket beneath his fingers. He hadn't returned it yet and Naruto hadn't asked for it back. It was his now. His own jacket.
And, on a stroke of luck, his master didn't take if from him when he said it was Naruto's. He said it was a good thing. If he wore it, then that would be a token of their friendship and Naruto would feel more relaxed around the redhead. It made him feel a little dirty to abuse the gift like that, but it was an order.
"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Gaara jumped up and waved back.
"Naruto." He said, much calmer than the blonde.
"How are you doing tonight?" He asked, hugging the redhead as a form of greeting. Gaara stood still, not hugging the blonde back. He never hugged him back, but in the same respect, he never pushed him away either.
"Hn." Gaara said, turning to walk towards the usual training grounds. The redhead side glanced at his mentor and raised a non existent brow. "Eyeliner?" He asked.
Naruto's face turned red and he bit his lip nervously. He fiddled with his fingers.
"Y-yeah… Do you uhm… Do you like it?" He said awkwardly. Gaara had grown used to things like this. He didn't know why the blonde did it, but he did. One time it was a phedora, another time it was a tie and a white button up shirt, and yesterday it was really tight pants. Gaara had said he liked all those things, wondering why the blonde was asking Gaara for fashion advice, but let it go. So tonight, he wore all of those things. Eyeliner was the newest addition.
Gaara stopped walking and turned to assess the blonde's look. Naruto fidgeted under the critical gaze, cheeks a dusty pink. Gaara began walking again.
"Yes." He answered. Naruto smiled and giggled a bit. Futilely.
"Good!" Gaara really had no clue as to why the blonde was so concerned about Gaara's opinion of his apparel. It wasn't like the redhead dressed spiffy or anything.
He wore a black tee, loose black suspender jeans with a chain connecting to his wallet, and black sneakers. With a sigh, he brushed away the thoughts.
"Though I prefer the way you looked for that first week." Gaara glared at the ground. Was that concern in his voice? Gaara looked to the left to mull it over. Why would he be concerned? Gaara scratched his head.
'Hypothetically, it could be because Naruto seems to be dressing different to impress somebody. And I don't think he needs to change to impress some lame girl. Naruto is perfectly fine the way he is.' Gaara halted. 'He's a Hunter.' He reminded himself. What was this feeling in his stomach? This twisting, aching feeling that rose in him all those weeks ago and has yet to leave? It was Naruto's fault, and he knew it.
Another thing he was sure of, it wasn't a good feeling.
"Gaara?" Naruto asked. The redhead's eyes snapped up and he began walking again. "I was thinking I guess."
"Ah." Naruto dared not venture further, as he knew he wouldn't get an explanation anyway.
" So, Naruto… Why do Hunters do what they do?" Gaara asked carefully, being sure not to sound too interested.
"Why do we…?" Naruto trailed off, expression thoughtful. "Well, why do you?"
"I have my reasons. But I'm not in a collective organization like you are. It's my understanding all Hunters operate virtually the same." He mumbled.
"I suppose. We all follow a code, if you must name it. Though I think morals would be more accurate." Naruto explained.
"Morals?" Gaara pressed.
"Yes. We all believe in justice and fair treatment." Naruto said, a hint of pride in his voice. Gaara scowled and glared at the ground in front of him.
"Fair treatment?" He spat. "You kill Firsts, just because they are supernatural. You kill them out of fear." He ground out.
"G-Gaara?" The blonde knew Gaara hated Hunters as well, was this the reason? Perhaps it was also the reason for his expulsion. "Well… Firsts are evil!" He defended. Didn't Gaara know that? Didn't he say he hated Firsts? No… No! He said he hated vampires.
The redhead spun on his heel and punched Naruto square on the jaw.
"What gives you the right to dub a person evil based on what they are?" He demanded. Gaara didn't want to be evil. He didn't want to be… He never wanted to be… But his master and… and Yashamaru… "Being a First is not something a person would choose!" Gaara is evil though. He's a bad man that does bad things… But that doesn't mean the others are. Valid, he doesn't care for them, even in the slightest… But his own experience makes him want to say something. He wasn't evil… not until that day. That fateful day nine years ago, when he was six…
"I-I… Gaara! They are evil! Bottom line! I've never met a good First!" He screamed back, rubbing his sore jaw, contemplating when a good time to strike back would be.
"Have you ever taken the time? You filthy Hunters see one and immediately yell about arresting them! You scare them into panicking!" Gaara shot back. Naruto decided now was good. He lunged and clocked Gaara, hard. The teen stumbled backwards before finally falling. Naruto glared. Gaara covered his cheek, not letting Naruto see the cracks he'd caused, trying to get them to sand over.
"Firsts are evil. There is no question to it!" The blonde confirmed before continuing. "Why would you even question that?" Gaara swept one leg under Naruto's feet and the Hunter went tumbling down.
"I question because I think for myself! You've been programmed to believe that garbage your whole life!" Gaara yelled. "You grow up with that being pumped into your brains! Force fed nothing but shit! Firsts are evil! You must kill them! Contain them! Just because they are higher than you! Just because they are stronger and you Hunters can't handle that!" He ranted. "It scares you to the bone and you can't deal with it!"
Naruto rubbed his arm and groaned, feeling the blood run down his flesh. Gaara's nose stood at attention and he felt his heart race. The blonde thought about what Gaara had said. Could that be true?
"You are fighting the better of the battle." Gaara amended. "But, you still don't have a right to judge before being positive!" He yelled. The redhead frowned. He'd been slowly leaning over to the Hunter's side of things ever since Naruto starting training him and feeding him bits of information.
"Gaara! Why are you so adamant about this?" Naruto asked, voice a little shaky from the fall. The redhead eyed the blood on Naruto's arm and watched it as it ran down his hand. He swallowed thickly and turned away from his mentor. He didn't know what to say next. He was never very good at conveying exactly how he felt… For example, getting into an argument with Naruto and, subsequently, a fistfight was not how he meant to do things. So, he did what he knew best.
"One for sorrow," he sang.
"Two for Joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for Silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told."
And with that he ran away, back to his house, where his master was awaiting the information he'd collected. But first, he was going to kill. Without having trained with Naruto, he had free time.
The blonde watched his pupil run away and he reached out, but said nothing. He just sat there, mouth gaping open. He didn't know what to do. What to say. Just where the hell did Gaara get those ideas? How could Firsts not be completely evil?
Naruto had always believed that-
"Wait…" Naruto mumbled to himself, confused. He had always believed. What made him believe such things? What made Firsts evil in the first place? Naruto closed his eyes, trying to think.
What classified as good? What made evil things evil? Who was to say a thing, or person, was evil, just because they had powers? Yet, it had been proven time and time again that it was in the Firsts nature to be evil.
Had the Thirds and Seconds pushed them to be that way though? Was it their own fault? Who first decided that they were evil? Was Gaara right? Could it simply all backtrack to nothing but flimsy fear?
"No. That's… That's not it. Firsts had to be evil. Humans weren't so malicious or cruel. And we still aren't. Nothing has changed." He assured himself, standing. "Nothing."
He still couldn't stop that small little sense of doubt in his heart. The same little bit that believed in Gaara. Naruto went home that night, eyes tired and heart heavy.
He'd futilely searched for Gaara until his duty at Mystique Pink. Nothing made much sense. He couldn't stop thinking. It was true, that he'd been made to think the way he did, but that didn't mean that the Hunters weren't right.
Naruto slumped down on his old, broken couch and picked idly at the stuffing. He didn't turn on any lights, as he saw no point. Gaara had really upset him. Aside from the soreness of the minute scuffle, his head hurt more than anything. His thoughts were going too fast to catch up with, and when he could pick out little bits and pieces, he realized he was only thinking in circles. He couldn't make sense of anything.
"Tell me, Sasuke…" He spoke the nothingness around him, as he often did when feeling lonely. "What did you think? Your people were killed by us… The Seconds…" He frowned, eyes moist. "What did you truly believe?" He chuckled humorlessly.
"Y'know. We were like brothers, best friends since we were little, in our own way, that is. Yet, I didn't really know you. I thought that I did, and I told myself so… But I didn't. I didn't know you. Not as much as I liked to claim. Hell, you could've been completely miserable and I would've never known." He felt tears roll down his cheeks, but ignored them.
"Were you? In your last moment, did you find any solace? You were alone, in pain… Did you have anything positive to think about? Were you still lost in grief, even then?" Naruto held himself tightly. "It was us. WE did it, yet we are supposedly the good guys. However, in the same respect, it was a First that murdered you and left this hole in me!" Naruto jumped up, pointing to his chest.
"Right here!" He shouted. "Nothing is there! Nothing! Firsts did that! They murdered you!" His eyes widened and his breath hitched. "Plural?" He questioned himself. "They said it was one. A single one… An evil one." His eyes hardened. "An evil First brought up in an evil environment." He said coldly, wiping at his tears.
"Firsts. Are. Evil." He said sternly.
Gaara stood in front of his apartment building, looking down, almost as if in shame. He'd dirtied it. With a heavy sigh, he returned to his own apartment and his master was there, awaiting the news, as expected.
Gaara felt… Strange. Killing was suppose to put him in a good mood, like it usually did. Killing reminded him that he existed, that he made a difference.
"Gaara." His master greeted, voice rumbling like thunder, but with less elegance. Less appeal.
"Hunters believe that they are enforcing equilibrium. Balancing everything. Creating equal living." He said, voice hollow. Not filled with the usual confidence and ice.
His master's laughter bellowed throughout the mostly empty apartment. Gaara understood why, however, the redhead found it much less amusing and more frustrating than anything. Could the Hunters really be so very stupid and ignorant?
"I've got business to attend to." The sandy haired man said after his laughter died down, standing and leaving the place, slamming the door behind him.
Gaara looked around his apartment. It seemed to become more and more empty by the day. Was this really the same place he'd lived in before he met Naruto?
"Hello?" He called fruitlessly into the cold place. Was this home? No. It wasn't. It had never really been home in the first place.
What constituted a home anyway? Gaara had never really bothered to entertain the thought, but somehow, he couldn't get away from it. What was Naruto's home like?
His sea foam green eyes narrowed and he ground his teeth together.
The things Naruto was saying… Or rather, the things that damn Hunter was saying. All of them were the same. Ignorant, lost in their own little conceited world. They didn't understand anything. Not a damn thing.
His master always told him that Hunters were like that. All the Firsts said that. With reason. Hunters were the bad ones. Some of the Firsts need to kill, less they die themselves. Gaara hated Hunters. Naruto had no right to hate Firsts.
The redhead looked over to the orange jacket strewn sloppily across the couch, small blood splatters on it's collar. He winced.
He dirtied it. Naruto's gift to him.
It was then that Gaara had a thought. It was something he'd never dared contemplate before. A thought that was completely taboo, but Naruto's personality did something to Gaara. Something strange. It made him feel… Warm. It made him feel right.
Gaara had long since found out that Naruto's ability was wind based and had nothing to do with an aura. He was planning on asking the blonde about it, but was relieved, for that would have made an awkward conversation. Instead, the blonde had already planned on showing Gaara his power, so there was no real questioning about it.
The redhead chalked that first night up to hunger, but he couldn't blame these feelings inside of him on hunger as well.
No, it was something else. It was doubt. Gaara had never really had anything to doubt in a long time, and the feeling had become completely foreign to him, but Naruto made him doubt.
Naruto made Gaara doubt his master. The redhead sat down on his couch and stared at the wall ahead of him blankly.
"Why do I hate Hunters?" He questioned aloud. "Why do I abide by Masters wishes?" He asked, wishing somebody, perhaps even a certain blonde, was there to answer him. For he couldn't figure it out himself. Just when exactly was it that he stopped thinking for himself?
"Naruto…" He whispered out, feeling so very cold. Guilt suddenly hit him and he whished he could find the blonde to apologize for his behaviour. He believed in what he did, no question. However, he didn't have to get physical or go about it the way he did.
He didn't understand why he felt so guilty. Hurting people was something that came easy. But something was different. Naruto was different.
The redhead closed his eyes.
"Master…" He said icily. Remembering the fateful day he met that malicious man.
"Yaaaasssshaammarrruu!" A tiny redheaded boy whined, tugging on his uncles hand.
"Gaara? Is everything alright?" An older man asked, tucking his sandy blonde hair behind his ear. Something he did when nervous.
"I don't like this place. Can we please leave?" Gaara asked, looking around the large, dark warehouse. Yashamaru's eyes hardened and he started at the floor in front of them.
"I told you," his voice was not comforting, "we're waiting for a friend of mine, okay?" Gaara shrunk in on himself. Something was different about his usually warm uncle. But the redhead forced himself to relax, trusting his relative wholly.
"Are you sure he wanted to meet here?" The impatient six year old questioned.
"Yes Gaara! Now shut up!" Yashamaru growled. Gaara bowed his head and pulled his hand away, whimpering.
"Y-Yashamaru?" The tiny child asked, voice shaky and eyes watering. This wasn't right. Yashamaru was sweating and wouldn't stop curling his hair behind his ears. "What's wrong?"
"Where is he damn it?" The blonde growled lowly.
"Here." A gravelly voice said from the darkness. Gaara flinched at the harsh sound. The redhead felt tears run down his face and he backed away.
"Finally! Do you have the money?" The blonde asked eagerly.
"M-money?" Gaara said in a small voice.
"I really don't see why I should be paying you for taking this brat off of your hands." The voice answered. A small bag flew from the shadows and landed at Yashamaru's feet. The blonde man immediately bent down and picked it up, checking it's contents.
"Good. Now Gaara. I'm selling you to this man. We need money and your father decided this was the best way to go." The man said, glaring at his tiny nephew.
"Wh-what?"
"Ch. Idiot." The man said, brushing past Gaara.
"W-wait! Yashamaru! Where are you going?" The redhead latched onto the mans leg.
"I told you. I'm selling you. You now belong to that man." Yashamaru said, pointing to the shadows.
"B-but! It-it's only because this is what dad is making you do, r-right?" The boy asked, voice weak. Yashamaru grinned cruelly.
"No. I wanted this, you murderer." The blonde ground out, turning to walk out. Gaara fell to his knees. "Oh, and, Gaara?" The redhead's ears perked up, but he didn't dare look at his uncle. "This wasn't the only option." He said, leaving with a smirk.
A few minutes after the man's exit, thundering footsteps were heard, but the defeated redhead couldn't find it within himself to care. A just sat there, pathetically weeping.
"Makes you angry, doesn't it?" The stranger asked. Gaara said nothing. "Do you feel betrayed?" The man pressed. Gaara didn't respond for a few moments then nodded slowly. "Betrayal breeds hate, hate breeds a need for destruction… Do you have the urge to hurt him?"
Gaara looked at his wet, pudgy hands. Did he feel the need? Did he want revenge on Yashamaru?
"Yes." It was a quiet whisper, barely audible. But the man caught it with his unnatural hearing. He grinned maliciously, handing the boy a blade.
"Do it. Kill him."
Gaara's teal eyes widened. Could he? Would he? Was death necessary? The redhead titled his head to the left, mulling it over. Was there really anything to stop him either? Not really. He'd been forsaken by all he trusted. Everything was different now. So why not become a killer? There was nothing to stop him. Nothing to tell him no. Only something to encourage it.
The tiny redheaded boy grinned cruelly and yanked the knife out of the mans hand, running after his 'loving' uncle.
Finally catching up, Gaara yelled out. Yashamaru turned around, eyes landing on the gleaming blade/
"Gaara? Where did you get that?" He wasn't scared, not one bit. Gaara didn't scare him. Why should he? Sure, the redhead was a little freak and killed his sister, but there was no way he could actually lay a finger on Yashamaru.
"From me." The tall stranger Gaara had just been sold to said, sporting a toothy grin of his own, just like Gaara's.
"Why did you two follow me?" His voice faltered, a little less certain with that man here.
"Gaara." The man said, voice grating. Gaara swallowed thickly. Could he really do it?
Yashamaru looked over at his nephew and his eyes grew dark, mouth twisting in a disgusted scowl. The freak's eyes were longing. He clearly wanted this to all be a freak, but there was no way that could be true. Yashamaru really did hate the brat, there was no way to get around that. It was truth. Yashamaru had only been pretending to love Gaara.
Gaara's eyes grew curious. Why did Yashamaru pretend to love him then? What was the point of pretending? The redhead bit his bottom lip.
"Why?" He braved.
"Why? Because I hate you." Yashamaru spat, once again glaring at the child. "You killed my sister." He ground out.
"No!" Gaara yelled. "Why pretend to love me?"
Yashamaru eyes went to the floor for a moment and his posture dropped. But he was soon stranding properly and glaring once more.
"So it would hurt even more when you found out the truth." It was a lie. He was lying. In truth, he had actually tried to love Gaara. He tried to tell himself that Gaara was part of his sister. The last thing she left, and he should love him. Yet, he couldn't being himself too. When he looked at the small child, all he saw was a killer. A killer who held no remorse for his actions.
Gaara didn't know any of that. He didn't know it was a lie. He didn't understand that Yashamaru really had tried. And he didn't understand why the man's eyes were so tired looking.
"You're grief is too much." He said, insight far surpassing his age. The tiny child ran forward, knife poised. The tall man behind him grinned wildly. This child was beautiful.
His porcelain skin glowed in the moonlight, his fiery red hair contrasted beautifully with his deep teal eyes, and his blood stained hands looked absolutely delicious.
Yashamaru howled out as Gaara twisted the blade in his chest.
"You're sad." Gaara mumbled.
"You little brat! Killing her wasn't enough for you! You will never be loved!" He screamed, shoving Gaara off of him and yanking the blade out, gasping painfully as blood dripped down his chin.
Gaara flew up from his seated position on the couch and touched his scar gently.
"Love…" He whispered. "What is love like?"
Well... That took long enough, yeah? haha sorry guys! My phone got stolen and that had like, ALL the information for this story on it so I just didn't have the heart to continue for a bit. XD sorry
REVIEW! -Lunar