Gaara was prepared to kill everyone there. This young man kept saying he was here to help him, but Gaara knew it was a lie. Mother knew they were all lies.

They were here to kill him.

Grains of sands trailed towards his assassin, but Gaara felt himself freeze against his will. His power retreated and Mother screamed in fury in his mind.

Gaara knew it was the man's fault. Everything was that man's fault. It was just another day where more killers came after him. Gaara slaughtered them all and Mother-

Gaara gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Blood. Mother called for all their blood and tHEY ALL DARE DENY MOTHER-

"Tsunade, you got me into quite the mess," the shady old man said, sighing loudly. The strong lady snorted loudly.

"Oh, please. You get in plenty of those by yourself," she snapped back, crossing her arms. She looked quite unhappy to be there.

They were all boring. This talk was uninteresting. His enemy said he was there to help Gaara, but Gaara knew they were all lies. No one cared about him. Everyone was afraid of him. From those pathetic villagers to shinobi who either ran from him or tried to kill him, Gaara could still see their burning hatred or terrified eyes. They were all the same.

His own siblings avoided being in his presence. They always avoided eye contact and always tried to eat elsewhere. They ignored him. They didn't love him.

Father didn't love him either. Father tried to kill him several times, and probably several times more in the future. Gaara was a failed experiment to him.

Everyone only cared about themselves in this world. Mother- No, that woman wasn't Mother. She died hating him. Everyone wanted him dead.

Everyone here was selfish and horrible and wanted him dead. These strangers were the same. They wanted to kill him.

Gaara must kill them. Gaara must spill their blood. The only person that mattered was himself. He needed to kill them tO PROTECT HIMSELF. KILL THEM. KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL HIM.

A black and green pair of eyes locked his gaze. Gaara's enemy grimaced, rubbing his temples. He had a tired look on his eyes. He looked at Gaara with pity, and it made his blood boil.

His uncle gave him that look sometimes, when Yashamaru thought Gaara wasn't looking. He always looked sad.

They were all lies though. Yashamaru hated Gaara the entire time. But that pitying expression infuriated Gaara more than anything else because it reminded Gaara of his uncle and his betrayal.

(He still missed Yashamaru. He still wishes they were all lies)

"I'm not looking at you with pity," the young man said sharply. "I am getting a headache because of how loud your tenant is."

Gaara froze. The lady didn't seem to react, but Gaara noticed the shady man give his enemy an assessing look, before reverting back to his dumb mask.

His enemy crouched down to Gaara's level. It was quite a foolish action. If Gaara didn't already know how fast his enemy was, he would have stabbed his enemy's heart already.

"My name is Hari," the man- Hari said. "I'm not an enemy."

Gaara stared at this man blankly. "You stopped me from killing them all," Gaara stated. That was a fact.

"I did," the man said patiently.

"Mother doesn't like you," Gaara said. The man snorted and rolled his eyes, before shaking his eyes.

"That's an understatement," he said wryly. Then he had a serious look on his face. "That voice isn't your Mother. Your mother loved you."

Gaara's face darkened. This man dares-

(He refuses to have false hope ever again)

"Your father lied. Yashamaru and your mother loved you dearly. Your mother loved you so much that her dying words on her deathbed was how she wanted to protect you no matter what. It may be true that the Ichibi gives you power over sand but… your uncle told you the truth that day. Your Sand Guard is a protection of your mother's love.

"She loved you so deeply that her will was imbued into the sand. Shukaku doesn't want to protect you the same way a mother's love does. I can sense it. Your mother's dying will is very strong and potent. Her love clings to you and protects you even now," Hari said, having a sad gaze in his eyes, but he looked serious. He looked truthful. Living around shinobi, Gaara never knew what was a lie or a truth.

Yashamaru said he loved him, but he said that was a lie. He said that his mother hated him too. Now, this man is saying that was all a lie? That doesn't make sense. It cannot make sense.

"Your father doesn't care about his son. He only wants a weapon for the good of his village," Hari scoffed. He had a dark look in his eyes. Gaara could see the burning anger in Hari's eye. And just for a moment, Gaara could relate to this man. Gaara could sense it in his words.

Hari was also used as a weapon before. He has been hated, feared, and used before.

"Your father wanted to test you… Your father wanted to use a mother's love as a weapon to test you. He never should have done that. Someone like him could never understand something like that," Hari said fiercely. He stared right into Gaara's eyes.

All sounds fell silent Gaara. He felt confused and lost.

"…Why are you telling me this?" Gaara said quietly. It was something Gaara could not understand. He has never met this man before. How could he trust him?

Hari gave a gentle smile before saying, "I can earn your trust. You don't need to give it to me right now. I want to help you because I know what it is like to be used and also… because your uncle asked me to. He wants you to be happy. More importantly, what your father did was unacceptable. He should never send assassins after his own child. Especially since you are just a child. You are not a weapon."

Gaara felt like Hari was telling the truth, but with shinobi, you could never tell if they actually were. Gaara was still confused about what Hari meant that his uncle asked Hari to help.

It gave Gaara hope though. Hari never looked at Gaara with fear or hatred. That was something new he has never experienced before.

Gaara gulped. He wanted to place his trust in Hari. Maybe not completely, but… living and loving only for yourself was lonely.

Gaara was still so young, and so very lonely. All he wanted was a friend.

Maybe this was his opportunity.

"…What do you need to do to help me?"