I feel like it'll disappear

The instant I look away

I just keep counting

All the many traces of loneliness

That I'd vomit up

In this time that seems so dry

My heart is thrashing around and drowning

It takes those lies that make my head spin

And tears them into pieces

And the place I lose my way in

In a dim, hazy world

---------------------------------

It was almost dawn when Gaara's eyes snapped open with an awareness that only the alert ninja could have. Without Shukaka in his body, he was more prone to bouts to paranoia about the people that surrounded him. Gaara didn't know whether to be happy- or depressed that the malicious one tailed tanuki was gone.

As the blond haired fox said; "Along with the bad, comes the good." A worthy quote from an annoyingly immature youma holder.

Grabbing a deadly kunai from beneath his pillow, Gaara shut his eyes again to fake sleep. The door to his room slid open and a soft voice called to him.

"Kazakage-sama."

Gaara internally wished to behead the unidentified person speaking. After all, this was a chance for him to catch up on some light sleep. The ninja didn't move, instead he gave a small snarl when a whirlwind of Temari and her giant fan burst into the room.

"Otouto-sama!"

Sitting up after seeing no other way to sleep, Gaara glared viciously at Temari and the nameless ninja. "Otouto-sama, it's a message from the Hokage of Konoha!"

Clenching his jaw secretly- Gaara slid off the bed onto his feet and pulled on a black robe over his pajama pants. He followed his older sister down the hallway towards his office.

Gaara's eyes narrowed suspiciously when he saw Kankuro standing solemnly by his desk. His clothes askew and his hat completely gone. He looked up at Gaara and avoided his eyes as he held up the letter.

Snatching the letter, Gaara sat down in his tall comfortable chair and ripped off the ribbon and unrolled the scroll.

Kazekage; Gaara of the Sand-

I regret to inform that at 1900 hours on the day of the last new moon- One Hatake, Kakashi found one Uzimaki, Naruto. Said person was found brutally murdered 1.59 li from Konoha's gates.

Our deepest apologies,

Hokage; Tsunade of Konoha

The letter remained in Gaara's hand as he slowly read over the words again.

It was a mistake, how could the keeper of the most powerful youma of nine be killed?

"Gaara?"

Gaara gave a vicious glare to Temari once more. She eeped and stepped back in fear of her younger brother. "Leave Now."

Not asking, Gaara demanded for his older siblings to leave. Temari zipped out of the room and Kankuro turned to leave, Gaara tossed him the scroll. "Goodnight otouto-sama."

Kankuro shut the door with a click and Gaara waited until all was silent until he turned his chair to look out the large window. Black rimmed eyes focused on some imaginary point and Gaara's mind warped to the several brief yet very memorable moments with the blond.

The most vivid was when he was resurrected with his grandmothers life, and an extensive amount of Naruto's chakra.

Gaara's stomach turned as he picked the folder up labeled 'confidential' and opened it to look upon the pictures of Naruto's mangled body. Tsunade was thorough with the explanation and the cause of death.

Death upon severing of the arterial vein in his throat. In other words, a slit throat.

Gaara traced some pattern upon the desk as he looked over the stomach turning pictures. A human body could loose two pints of blood before death, however a youma's body could sustain up to three and a half pints without passing out. More then double the average amount before he was actually dead.

Gaara had been with Naruto when the blond had tested the theory with several experiments. Not suicide- the blond was too good for that. However, he had asked Gaara to be present when they did such test. Not that Gaara had any means to use a demon that had been sucked out of his body.

Seeing all the blood in the pictures did no justice. Gaara could see that Naruto's body was totally drained. Purposely to some degree it was certain. However, the lack of evidence to who committed this heinous act brought forth a devastatingly evil mood in Gaara.

Carefully setting the folder back into the desk drawer, Gaara gave a solemn glare out the window once more towards the seemingly endless desert. It plagued his mind that his first…. Only true friend was gone.

Gaara admitted to himself long ago that Naruto was indeed his friend. Emotions forever blocked, good emotions had traveled through his body when Naruto had called him a friend and then saved his life.

Thinking about such memories, Gaara was surprised when something wet dripped onto his shirt. The dark red circle seemed obvious against crimson cloth.

Raising one hand to his face, Gaara felt foreign wetness. He slowly pulled it away then with wondering and wide eyes- attentively licked away the droplet on his finger. Making nary an expression, he noted it to be salty.

"Am I…"

Gaara couldn't speak for a second and simply watched as more droplets spilled onto his robe and melded in with it's surroundings.

"…Crying?"

Gaara turned and slowly pulled a pen out to address to the Hokage that he received both folder and scroll. Tear drops continued to flow unchecked and steadily out of his eyes and onto the scroll and his clothes.

Without a understandable reason to why he was crying, he had no way nor idea to how to stop the nonstop drops of salty water. His hand shook as he tied the scroll shut and set it on the edge of his desk for later delivery.

Emotions didn't run through his body like Temari said they should when a person cried. He felt nothing, not a emotion. Only a tingling sensation in his throat and numb sensation through the rest of his body.

"Where's the good in this Naruto."

Gaara hadn't a clue to why he was crying, nor how to stop.

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Oo. Hadn't expected this one to go as it did. Will anyone give me a clue to who else I should make a chapter dedicated to? I've done Iruka, Gaara…. Who else?