A Slayer's Confidant

Chapter 5

Chapter 5.
"Gaara, look at what I found!" Naruko Uzumaki ran toward the red head holding rare roses that attracted demons. It was the very reason that these roses were rare. They had a certain scent that attracted demons. Green eyes stared at the tiny seeds that lay in Naruko's tanned hands. He scowled.

"Throw them away, Naruko, we don't need a demon coming near us." Gaara snared. Naruko frowned, eyebrows furrowing. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. Gaara frowned, seeing the hurt he'd bestowed upon his secret crush. He raised an invisible brow when she began to stare at him with wide cerulean puppy eyes. Gaara rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I meant to say was would you like to plant the seeds?"

A wide grin spread across her face as she nodded. She placed the seeds on her dresser and took Gaara's hand. "Of course I would! But first I need you to teach me how to dance." She chuckled, sheepish. Gaara shook his head. The red head, smiled lightly, he pulled Naruko in toward him taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist.

He continued to walk her through the steps of the waltz in Sunagakure. Naruko caught up after stumbling at first but she was the usual clumsy girl she always was. That was one of the reasons he fell in love with her besides the fact that his life changed for the better because of Naruko Uzumaki.

When he was younger, Gaara used to be a kind child who, despite the fear the other people felt for him, tried desperately to be friendly toward others. It was until his uncle Yashamaru forced Gaara to kill him with the harenkinesis that Gaara could not control as a child due to the actions of his uncle, which was for Gaara to kill Yashamaru who was dressed as a masked man. This unfortunately will change his personality. For a long time, Gaara was misled into believing nobody cared for him, Gaara used the sand to create the kanji on his forehead for "love", as a symbol of his resolution to be a demon loving only himself, and to live up to the name his mother gave him.

Gaara became emotionally withdrawn and strangely silent, as he was consumed with loathing towards everyone but himself and his hatred as well as desire to kill. He learned to derive pleasure and a reason to live in annihilation of the numerous assassins sent to kill him because of his deadly power – and by extension, anyone who posed a threat to his existence.

This was only worsened by an occasional demand for blood to satisfy a man named Shukaku bloodlust. The man was a friend of Gaara's father. They were partners in hunting vampires. Until Shukaku changed into nothing but a horrifying creature capable of using his powers for evil rather for good. Shukaku's blood lust resulted in Gaara's remorseless and sociopathic nature, demonstrated when he murdered Baiu and Midare, despite their plea for mercy.

Furthermore, Gaara suffered from insomnia as a result of Shukaku's powerful mind control that he used, thus he inhabitation of his body. The disorder forced fear upon Gaara; if he were to sleep – the man that was controlling him would appear and kill him himself. Gaara's hatred for his father was justly founded in his father's assassination attempts, but his misanthropic nature even extended to his siblings, who he never saw as related to him, despite them never offending him directly. He was fully willing to kill them if he viewed that the situation called for it. In addition, due to the harenkinesis activating instinctively at any time, Gaara was close to injury, he never saw his own blood until, he came upon his encounter with the demon Sasuke Uchiha, who pierced his sand shield and wounded him, causing him to suffer a severe mental breakdown.

Gaara's childhood was similar to Naruko's in many ways. Both were unbearably lonely, longed to be liked, loved, and acknowledged as individuals as a result of being unable to control their powers – causing fear to the people. Still, they were human beings not monsters forced to contain the powers that they were born with. Unlike Gaara, Naruko's mother had died giving birth to her but still had her father and brother who gave her the love and care that she gravely needed after finding that she had powers that labeled her to be a demons slayer. Although, Naruko was unbearably lonely – she not only longed to be loved by other people but she longed for the love of her older brother and someone that would be her one and only. Naruko dreamed of being in love even though love was a strange and somewhat foreign thing for her.