The next day, she was allowed out of the hospital, and she started walking around the village, memorizing the surroundings, when she saw a group of kids playing with a ball. She joined in, when the ball flew onto a tall building. Michiko sighed, playing with the headband around her neck, and was about to go get it when it was picked up by a cloud of sand, and lowered to a little red headed boy with teal eyes. She smiled, saying, "Thanks!" she went and got the ball, and asked, "Do you wanna play with us?" He was about to nod when a girl said, "No! He can't! He's a monster!" Michiko's eyes hardened as she glared at the girl. "I don't appreciate it when people insult good people." She threw the ball to them. "If you won't play with him, I will." She led the boy away, and she softened. "I'm Michiko, by the way." "Gaara…" she smiled. "So what do you want to do, Gaara?" He led her to his room, which was full of toys.
She sat down on a chair, and asked, "How did you control the sand?" "I was born with that ability…" "Oh…" She looked at all of the toys, asking, "Do you ever play with other kids? From what I saw, they don't really want to…" She felt something grab her ankles, and she looked down to see sand wrapping around her ankles and moving up her shins. She looked up, fearfully, at Gaara, but he seemed…different. She could tell from his eyes. "G-Gaara…" She couldn't help the stutter in her voice as the sand reached her waist. "The monster…he senses it…HER…" she didn't understand, and gave him a confused, fearful look. "The monster in me…he senses another…"
The sand started moving up her stomach, and she tried to pry it off. "G-Gaara…stop…" the sand tightened slightly, and she gritted her teeth in pain. "Let out the monster…he wants to see her…" the sand reached her chest, and the pain was becoming unbearable. She saw conflict in his eyes as it moved to her throat. 'He really doesn't want to…he must have a split personality…' "Gaara…" her lack of air made it hard to speak. "If I die…I won't blame you…" she saw the surprise in his eyes as the lack of oxygen made her faint. As her body relaxed, she faintly noticed the sand fall away. 'I knew he was good…' she looked up into his guilty eyes. 'I just knew it…'