• The dawn sun rose clear and sharp warming the brisk air slowly. As the air heated, all living things started to awake. The sun touched Gaara’s face. He had been asleep for the first time in years. He stirred slightly and his head turned to face the window. His eyes opened a slit. Such a beautiful morning. What a rotten time to be laid up in the hospital. The damage was far greater then they expected. Sasuke had collapsed his right lung and disabled that arm. On top of it all those fights were not a good idea. But the thing inside of him demanded that die. The strain of letting it loose had wreaked havoc on his already weakened body. He had to have extensive surgery to repair his arm and lung. He had to be put under heavy sedatives the whole time. As he looked out the window he saw a black and red butterfly float past. It seemed to pause every now and then as if pondering its next step. Then it was gone from his sight. He felt incredibly ill and weak.
    The door to his room opened a crack. He knew this because he felt the slight breeze. “You might as well come in,” he speaks out loud. A tuft of blonde hair peeked around the corner before the face of his sister Temari. “Hi Gaara good morning.”, She greets cheerfully. She came into the room with Kankuro behind her. She leaned down and kissed his love symbol. His skin under the symbol twitched at the touch. He gazed up into her eyes curiously. He had been pondering the all important question for days now. What was love? How did one know they were feeling love? What were the symptoms? He now gazed at Temari and thought back on all the times he had been around her. She seemed genuinely happy to be near him. He glanced at Kankuro. He seemed different . He no longer averted Gaara’s gaze as he looked at him. It would seem to him that they were no longer afraid of him. Then it came back to him. All in a rush.
    He had been involved in the Chunin Exams. He had been ordered to fight Sasuke among other things. During the final fight something unexpected had occurred. He had in initiated his Ultimate Defense Jutsu and sat there warm and cozy in his sand ball. Quite safe from all harm and he was releasing his inner beast when he heard a chirping noise. Not just any chirping noise, but what sounded like dozens of them. He ignored it and began talking to and calming his monster. Then it struck. With the force of a concentrated blade he felt a sharp twinge just below his right collarbone. Then warm sticky wetness flowing from the spot where he had felt the sharp twinge. He was startled out of his reverie with a shocking revelation. He, whom had been protected by the sand all his life. He had never even had a scratch. Now he was seriously wounded. And the blood. It was his blood.
    He screamed, he knew he did. Then it all went black for a while. He remembers blacking out as the giant snakes started attacking the village. When he came too the thing inside of him had awakened and nearly took over then. He knew he was being pursued so he allowed his sub consciousness to slip so his monster could take over. Then as he transformed into the beast he remembers it using his body and voice to threaten those around him. He watched from inside his mind as the monster tried to kill everyone around him. Then much to his surprise someone named Naruto beat his monster and he was forced to consciousness. He watched as this Naruto crawled towards him to kill him. It occurred to him that if his victims did not want to die then he did not want to either. He panicked.
    He didn’t remember much about the conversation but he was still here so he must have convinced Naruto to leave him alone. Now he was recovering in one of the four rooms of the hospital in Sunagakure. He looks over at Temari, ”why are you here?,” She jumped a little uneasily at his words. “I’m here to see you of course,” she smiles shakily. He narrows his eyes at them. He feels the slight satisfaction of making Kankuro jump. “Okay okay okay,” she laughs nervously,” I have bad news about father.” Kankuro sighs and says,” He’s dead. Has been for awhile now. The whole Chuinin thing? Someone was impersonating him.” He could feel his whole body go cold. He didn’t much care for his father. Matter of fact he had been trying to kill his ill begotten offspring for 6 years now. What mattered most to Gaara was that his father was dead and he wasn’t the one to do it. Also he didn’t like being ordered around by strangers. Now he could feel anger replace the numbness of shock.
    As the days past he often found himself bored. He inwardly blamed Shukaku for his predicament. On the day of his release he wandered into the desert and traveled to his favorite oasis. There he sat and meditated for hours as he awoke his inner self. He found himself inside if his own mind and confronting the beast. Shukaku was a mighty sand wraith whom inhabited his body and took out its bloodthirsty urges using his Gaara’s body. “You,” he angrily cried out towards Shukaku. It turned to look at him. “What do you want you brat?” it snarled. It lowered its muzzle towards the ground where he stood defiantly confronting his monster.
    “You ruined my life.” he snarls angrily at the monster, “ I’m no longer running away from you so what are you going to do about it?” “you dare come in here and threaten and bully me?” it responds with sarcastic surprise in its voice. “ I could gobble you up right now little man.” it answers menacingly. “Go ahead do your worst. You’ll just kill us both. At least then my family would be safe.” The words felt foreign coming off Gaara’s tongue as he spoke them. Her had never before put his trust and love in his family before. “Your bluffing!” the thing sounded stunned. He solemnly shakes his head no. “Why do you want to protect them so bad?” Gaara takes a moment to answer. “They are all I have. And something is better than nothing. Besides they really love me despite all that I’ve done. Look how hard they tried to protect me from sasuke. I did a lot of thinking in that hospital room. And you know what?”
    It shakes his head no. “If you keep making me kill I promise to take us both out.” Its eyes widened. “you wouldn’t” it says in a dry voice. “I would to protect the ones I love.” His monster seemed to shrink back at the radiating waves of love coming off Gaara. Then the most amazing thing occurred. It sank to the ground and assumed a human form. Gaara had never seen this monster in any other form other than Tanuki. What stood before him now was a middle aged man with medium khaki colored hair. He appeared older than he really was and had soft gray eyes. “Gaara.” he speaks softly and holds his arms out. Gaara was startled by the change in his monster. Now what stood before him was very human and so frail looking. After hesitation he enters the embrace of his spirit. All goes black as the mans arms wrap around him.
    The sun was low in the sky. Gaara’s lips were parched. He did not know how long he had laid there. A tremendous rumbling in his tummy made him sit up. His head swam and he felt dizzy. He looked around. He was sitting farther from his oasis than he ever had been. Somehow he had been deposited in the very depths and wilderness of the desert. He looked around and spotted a cactus with a very large hole in it. That cactus had always been the marker to find his oasis. A family of burrowing owls had lived there. Now it was empty. He silently moves past it and looks around. His next indicator that he was heading in the right direction was a lump of some kind of black rock. It sat at the base of an enormous sand dune. As he trudged over one sand dune he quickly spotted the large sand dune. At the base glittered faintly the mirror like black stone half hidden by the sand.
    He staggers down the dune than collapses at the base. He had been weak only once before and now here he was weak again. How long had he been out? Then he felt his body gently lifting and before he knew it he was at his oasis once more. He looked just in time to catch a glimpse of Sand retreating back into his gourd. Shukaku had saved him. Staggered by the fact that he was saved by what was inside him he crawls weakly to the water and slowly takes a sip. He replenished his mouth with more cool water and then ha lay back upon a rock. He closes his eyes and sleeps peacefully.
    A noise nearby awoke him from a dead sleep hours later. He looks around to see pitch black all around him and he felt the sharp stinging feeling of the cold desert air. Suddenly he could not stop shivering. He got up and tried to walk. The cold air around him made him feel like he was traveling through ice water. He moved sluggishly and without direction. Soon the hours passed. The sun slowly rose and panic touched his heart. He had never been lost in the desert before. Now he was hopelessly lost and had no food. And who knows how long he had been out of it before. He may have been passed out for a week or more.
    A couple of days pass before he sees any sigh of life as he wanders aimlessly through the desert. Stopping at every watering hole helped him live and Shukaku had been trying to help with food. Using his sand abilities he would catch Gaara food and cook it with really hot sand. This way he had some food in his belly. He had been lost for nearly a week when his body abruptly gives out. He collapses in the sand and his breathing was very ragged and shallow. Looking up he saw the blurry images of his family in the distance. He struggled to be close to them and as he moved closer he saw his father and Naruto as well. They stayed a good distance away from him. Gaara cried out to them. Then his whole world went black The whole time Shukaku agonized over Gaara‘s fate once he passed out he was able to take control. Possessing his body he made Gaara sit up. He aimed Gaara’s face at the sky and using his sand he shot pillars of red and black sand up into the sky. He twisted them together and made a huge column. Any rescue party would see it from miles away. He just hoped that they got there in time.
    * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    He had been missing for over a week. Temari had nearly worried herself to death over what could have happened to Gaara. He had just gotten out of the hospital. He wasn’t completely recovered yet. Looking around she saw the enormous column of red/black sand snaking its way up into the sky. Turning she shouts,” This way!” She leaps across the back of the sturdy desert horse she had been riding. She turns the stallion and swiftly but gently banged her heels against his sides. Rearing he tears off at a gallop before anyone else can even reach their horses. She enjoys the feeling of the brisk wind on her face and she remembers the last time she saw Gaara.
    He was due to leave the hospital the next day and she had been in his room all night. Once he awoke she tried to show him as much love as possible. He didn’t seem to take to it much and he actually blushed a little when she kissed him on his cheek. She smiled and made conversation and let the happiness she felt out in her voice. He listened at first. Then she remembers the conversation that Led to him opening up and talking back to her. She had been discussing what happened to their father when she said,” Good riddance to him anyway. What with the way he treated you I’m surprised you didn’t kill him.” She could feel his eyes gaze at her as she spoke those words. A chilly feeling crept into the air.
    “You didn’t agree with what father did?” he asked in his deep voice. “No Gaara neither did Kankuro. But he didn’t tell us what he was up to. And once he did it we couldn’t take it back.” He hung his head in sorrow at her words. “Then why were you both frightened of me all the years we grew up together.?” He asked his voice now husky with emotion. She moved besides him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. She pulled him close and held him for the first time. He had tensed up at first. “It wasn’t you we were afraid of. It was that spirit inside you. We knew you could not control it so we protected you from afar.” As she spoke he relaxed. He leaned into her and seemed to become more and more peaceful and serene. “what was I like as a baby.?” She thought about it. “When you were born mother was weak. But she still insisted on holding you. When they wrapped you up and handed you to her you opened up your blue eyes gently. You stared into her eyes and she stared back at you.”
    Temari paused knowing what would come next would be the most difficult thing she ever told Gaara. “Mother said ’ He’s beautiful . His name is Gaara.’ She leaned down and kissed his forehead. She then seemed to sink further into the bed and she was getting paler. She ran her fingers through your red hair gently and sighed. ’I don’t blame you Gaara’ she told you. With that she closed her eyes and she was gone. You wailed as soon as she died. You could not be calmed. And the first few weeks of your life were the most difficult. You could not or would not sleep. And because you didn’t sleep you didn’t let anyone else sleep either. When you sat up for the first time you looked at me and smiled. It was the first smile you ever gave. And one of the last ones.”
    Temari knew she was crying and hoped he couldn’t hear it in her voice or feel it on the top of his head where her chin rested. “ I knew then that no matter what you said or did I would protect you as much as I could. I would show you love whenever you let me and I would treat you like every day with you was special in the hopes you might one day have a bond with me. It never seemed liked you cared much for my efforts though. Almost like you thought I was a nuisance. But I understand now That was your way of protecting us. You may not have known it and maybe you thought you didn’t love us. But I think you felt love for us all those years you just confused the emotion with something else. That’s why you could never kill us all those times you threatened to. That and the spirit inside you did most of the speaking for you. You just confused those thoughts with your own.” She was beginning to think he was asleep when he spoke,” I think your right. Temari? I’m sorry, I’m sorry I caused you and Kankuro pain all those years.”
    She rocks him a little and begins to lull him to sleep. He sighs and nestles closer to her. That was the last time she seen him. She knew that she had gotten through finally and that he would be more calm. Maybe he would be closer to them. Now he had been missing for over a week and everyone was worried. Even Baki was worried. Baki was supposed to have started grooming Gaara on being Kazekage. Gaara was next in line after all. With his father being dead and Gaara not properly trained Baki had to take over temporarily. As she steadily approached the spot where the column of sand was she got a big shock. She saw the form of the Shukaku beast made out of sand crouching low over Gaara’s body. The reason being was that there was a tremendous sand storm brewing and had threatened to toss Gaara’s body like a scrap of cloth. She halted her stallion and pulled her fane off her back.
    She swung her fan around and shouted,” Wind scythe Jutsu.” As the wind from her fan blew forward it thwarted the sand storm and altered the course away from Shukaku and Gaara. Shukaku lifted his head towards her as she trotted up and seemed surprised she saved him. He bowed his muzzle in respect and seemed to disappear. She knelt and picked up Gaara’s limp form and noticed he wasn’t overly skinny. He was tanned and had gotten food and water from somewhere. She placed him across the back of the stallion. She leapt across his back and grabbed Gaara. As she settling Gaara to an upright position and securing him to her body the others arrived. “Is he okay?’ Baki asks anxiously. “He’s alive. And not to bad off all things considering.” “Good when we can get back to training him the village will be better off.”
    They slowly trot back to the village so as not to disturb Gaara. After he had awoke he found himself in the care and love of his family. He felt joy for the first time. He bounced back with rapid progress and seemed genuinely happy to have his family around. Once he was completely healed he started his training as the Kazekage. Baki noticed a great change in Gaara and started to enjoy teaching him. He was more patient and ready to learn. The two years pass by really quickly and before they knew the whole village was preparing for the feast which would be in honor of their new Kazekage, Gaara. He had a bad feeling though. Almost like he had accomplished this too easily. He knew to be on his guard over the next following weeks.