Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Another thank you to BatmanForPresident! I love getting an alert for a new review and constructive criticism is welcome :D

Chapter 23

"Minoko?"

Gaara's voice was more fragile than she had ever heard it before. Even moreso than when he first told her about the demon sealed in him. He sounded so lost and confused and he was shaking in her arms.

Minoko nuzzled her nose into the side of his neck as her arms tightened once more around his form, "I'm here, Gaara. It's ok."

She could feel his body shudder with suppressed sobs. She didn't know what to do for him, so she just stayed still and quiet.

After a few minutes, Gaara pulled back. His head was lowered so that his hair covered his eyes from view. Minoko took a small step back, releasing him but staying within arm's reach. Both kids were quiet for a long time before Gaara finally looked at her.

She watched as his eyes widened in horror. He looked down at his hands and then back to her. That was when she noticed the red staining his hands and glanced down.

Huh, when did that happen? Minoko thought as she examined the thin cuts that littered her body. They were all shallow. They didn't hurt so much as sting lightly. She was about to just shrug it off when she heard a whimper come from her friend. She looked up to see him back away from her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean…" Gaara turned as if to run away from her and Minoko quickly reached out to grab his arm.

"Hey, I'm ok. Where're you going?"

"I didn't…your arms…face…so much blood…monster…I really am a…"

"Hey!" Minoko pulled him around to face her. His eyes were staring right through her, blanker than she had ever seen from him. His eyes…they looked almost dead.

"You're not a monster," she stated firmly, "You've never been a monster. You didn't mean to hurt me and I'm ok. They don't even hurt. They just feel like really tiny paper cuts."

"But-"

"No buts!" she stubbornly stated, "You're not a monster. I'll never see you as a monster. You're my friend. This was just an accident, right? If you were a monster, you wouldn't feel guilty, right? And I know you'd never hurt me on purpose!"

Gaara looked her in the eye hesitantly, then let his gaze wander to the blood that was still sluggishly dripping down her cheek, "I…" his eyes squeezed shut.

A sudden swirl of sand surrounded Gaara and she felt his arm wrenched from her grasp. When the sand dissipated, he was gone.

…

Gaara's mind was in utter chaos as he ran. He couldn't look at her now. He couldn't.

She said that she didn't see him as a monster. That it was an accident and he didn't…wouldn't…hurt her.

But she didn't know.

She didn't know that he had killed people when she was gone. So many people. And he had enjoyed it.

The images of blood pooling around cooling corpses, entrails scattered and bones ground to dust as though they had made contact with high grade sandpaper flashed in his mind's eye. The haunting laughter - laughter- that he had emitted during those occasions echoed in his thoughts.

Gaara jumped through his open window and collapsed in a heap inside his bedroom. He curled in on himself and clenched his knees, biting his fist to keep the noise down.

He had forgotten her, too. He didn't know why either. Not really.

It made no sense! She was his closest friend. They had been together for over a year and spent almost every day of that time together. They had gone to the greenhouse, had 'sleepovers', gotten food and played games and hugged and laughed and he…just forgot? Just like that?

Looking back, he could vaguely remember stopping himself from killing the first few times after she…left? Why did she leave? Oh, mission, right. Ok, so she left on a mission to…somewhere. She was gone for a long time…

Gaara forced his breathing to slow into a slow, steady rhythm as he tried to focus. His memories..of her...of the last few months...they were fuzzy. Blurred. He didn't have this problem before. He knew that he didn't. So why…?

Maybe it was Mother? a small voice that sounded like his own said in the back of his mind. The thought froze his tears and had him scrunching his brows together.

But why would Mother want me to forget Minoko?

She was the one person that truly cared about him in the whole village. Even more than Yashamaru-oji-san. She made him happy. She kept him sane.

If I didn't forget her, I never would have done those things!

Gaara internally froze and his breath hitched.

Of course.

Mother wanted blood. Gaara refused to give it blood because he didn't want Minoko to look at him with those eyes.

A sudden rush of memory flooded his mind as things cleared up. The fuzz was pulled back to allow his memories and logic and emotions through.

Mother was known to eat away at its host's psyche. It ate away his memory of his friend so that he would do whatever it asked.

He almost forgot her because of the demon.

He almost forgot what it was like for someone to care because of the demon.

Never again.

Gaara wiped the tears from his face absentmindedly as he stood up on surprisingly steady legs and walked over to his desk with a determined air. He pulled out a blank journal and started writing furiously.

He wouldn't forget her again. He'd make sure of it. He'd write down everything about her that he could think of and add to it as much as possible. He'd tape a picture of her in it later.

He'd write until his hands cramped up and then…and then he would find her and apologize and welcome her home properly.

And he would tell her the truth...and hope that she could still look at him with those kind eyes.

Resolve hardened his features. He wouldn't forget again. He wouldn't.

No matter what she thought of him after tonight.

…

Rasa gazed out of his office window at his village below. His even gaze was calculating and cold. He needed to be cold in order to do what was best for his village. This place, these people, they were his responsibility.

The child that his late wife birthed was defective, as proven by his turbulent emotional state. A defective weapon was more dangerous than having no weapon at all. Hence why he needed to be rid of it.

He would do it himself, but it was the one promise that he made to Kurura. He would never lay a hand on the children with the intent to injure. Even the child that was to be nothing more than a tool to be pointed at Suna's enemies. She may have been a means to an end, but he did care for her to an extent. He'd keep his promise, but still protect his people.

He would not lay a hand on the children. But he could have others do it for him.

The previous assassins were disposable. Most were from outside of the village and held no viable connection to him or Suna. They were merely pawns to gauge the strength and defenses of the jinchuuriki.

Rasa knew that in order to be rid of the monster, he would need someone that was trusted. Someone that could get inside his defenses unnoticed.

He had the perfect candidate for the assassination in mind. Ever since Yashamaru came to him over a year ago with information about the 'friend' of the weapon, he had kept tabs on her. He had Yashamaru begin to mold her into the perfect tool.

The first obstacle was simple. She needed to begin training in the shinobi arts. An attack made by a hidden Yashamaru after dark was the instigator. Having him come out of hiding to comfort the…children…and then offer to train them in self-defense was almost seamless.

The next problem that showed up was the girl's mother. That woman wanted to coddle the child. That wouldn't do. A slight genjutsu after the girl's promotion to genin ensured that the woman would cut all ties to the family and wouldn't interfere with the girl's training. He had a trusted subordinate keep her in the jutsu or sedated for almost a full week. She was moved to an apartment on the other side of the village. Her husband was made to bring her belongings to the new residence. Once that was finished, the woman was killed and some genin were hired to clear the room of her personal affects. No one the wiser to what had occurred.

The girl was now well trained. She could be categorized as a prodigy. After the completion of her infiltration mission, which she provided more information than even he had hoped for, Rasa was now free to promote the genin to chunin.

He would give her the week to settle back into a routine before the promotion. Then he would give her a few months to worm her way back into the life of the jinchuuriki.

After that, he would give her the mission that she was cultivated for.

A/N: I hope that this chapter answered some of your questions! I had several people message me either about her mom or why Gaara would forget Minoko. Let me know what you think!

On a separate note, I'm not sure how regularly I can update the story. Work has been a bit chaotic since the virus started. I'm still going to update as frequently as I can, but it may not be every week v.v I'm sorry!