*About 9 years ago*
Hitomi was watching some other kids playing a game of soccer at the playground (she was much to shy to ask to join). One kid kicked the ball much to hard and it landed on the roof.
"Aww man, now look what you did!" one kid exclaimed.
"How're we gonna get it down?" another asked.
"We don't know the wall climbing technique yet."
"Whadda we do?"
Suddenly, she noticed the ball was being lifted off the roof by a cloud of sand. It lowered into the hands of a redheaded boy. He offered it to them, but instead of taking the ball,
"IT'S THE MONSTER!"
"HE'S GONNA GET US!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"
"MOMMY!"
Hitomi watched as the other children ran away as fast as they could.
She looked back to see the redhead boy sitting on the ground, crying. It was him. That boy her mom told her never to talk to. But it hurt her to see him there so miserable, so she stood up and walked over to him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Aren't you gonna run away from me too?" he asked.
"No, why would I run away?" Hitomi replied.
"Because I'm a monster."
"You're not a monster silly! Monsters are big and scary and you're just a boy."
"Didn't you see what I did with the sand?"
"Yeah, and that was the COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"
"You . . . you really think so?" He started to tear up again.
"Yup. Oh hey I'm Hitomi. What's your name?"
"G-Gaara."
"Ok Garra, you're gonna be my new best friend!"
So for the next few weeks, Hitomi and Gaara played together whenever her mom wasn't around. That is, until she found out. Needless to say she was furious. Hitomi was basically under house arrest and her parents never let her out of their sight. Eventually, her parents decided to move to Kirigakure in order to keep her away from Gaara without having to constantly watch her. She never even got to say goodbye . . .