Part 4: What Is Love? pt.1

In a private room of the Kazekage mansion . . . The Kazekage and his right-hand man met together.

"Lord Kazekage, you wanted to see me?" Came the soft, gentle voice of Gaara's uncle that acted as caretaker to both Gaara and Yami.

Yashamaru. Brother-in-law to the Kazekage, Gaara's father. He donned the traditional uniform of a Sand shinobi which included a turban, the village's forehead protector, flak jacket, as well as a cloth that hid the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes visible

The man stared out the one window in the room. This was a secret place known only to the Kazekage himself, and his trusted right-hand man. It's been that way for generations. The room was directly connected to the Kazekage's office where others came in for missions given by their leader. The room was also a small private library.

The only way to be able to access this room was by a secret jutsu, that, or if you were able to manipulate sand.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you how they have been doing."

Yashamaru looked down and away, heavy on his thoughts. "Well, they both have a great affect on the other. I think because of why Gaara has been able to deal with the Shukaku so well is because he has Yami . . . And Yami seems to take away that darkness he has. Gaara hasn't lost control at all, sir."

The man just continued to gaze out the window, and was like that for a short while before he asked something else.

"And Yami? How is she faring? Any changes at all?"

"Now that she has bonded with Gaara, she is very in-tune with his emotions., sometimes I wonder if she can feel them herself. But other than that, she seems in control over her own darkness and perhaps Gaara's as well. There is yet to be any more changes about her."

The Kazekage nodded. "Very good. Alert me if there are any more changes with the two, and continue to watch them."

Yashamaru nodded and closed his eyes. "Sir!" And then he vanished from the room, leaving the Kazekage to think over his words.

How long would Gaara be able to stay in control? It was a sheer miracle that he hasn't already lost control of the demon within, was Yami such a great factor in this control? What hold did she have over the Shukaku? More importantly, what if she had something inside more dangerous than even a Tailed Beast? After all, she was certainly not human . . .

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The scorching sun shone brightly in the blue skies above. It was a hot day, and the children were out playing in the Sand's only park.

Two stayed in the safety of the shadows, content in the shade it brought.

There were only two swings, which was accompanied by Gaara and Yami.

The two always tried to find time to come to the place where they first met. It was special to them.

They mainly talked quietly among themselves, watched the other children play, and just enjoyed each other's company. The silence was never uncomfortable between them, it was something they were use to.

The kids were practicing with their shuriken and kunai when suddenly one of the kunai went sailing into a pile of sand. The kid who thrown it hadn't paid attention to where it went. He started looking around for it, even calling his friends over to help hunt it.

Yami got up and Gaara watched in curiosity as she went forth and dug it out of the sand — having watched precisely where it landed.

When her fingers brushed it, she grabbed it and pulled it out. She stood up, and looked over at the children who were coming her way.

"Hey, let's look over here—"

They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the dark girl holding the kunai in a dangerous way.

She was just about to hold it out for the boy to take when they suddenly backed up, fear clear in their eyes.

"Look! She's going to kill us!"

"Quick! Run away!"

Yami was appalled, though part of her knew she shouldn't be. "No, wait, I—"

"Get her!"

"You're not stealing my soul, demon!"

And then a couple of the children grabbed rocks and threw them at her, catching Yami off-guard.

Most of them were poorly thrown, only resulting in them going right past her without her movement needed at all. She tried dodging the ones coming right at her, but the sand beneath her made it hard for her to move.

One hit her in the chest, one grazed her on the arm, and another hit the hardest — right against the side of her head. She fell down with the last blow, her head erupting into pain while her chest and arm hurt painfully. She felt a trickle of warmness form from where the rock made impact on her head. She felt clearly as it ran through her hair and down her face. She reached up with her hand, to really make sure it was what she thought, and saw red smeared on her pale hand.

But the kids didn't stop, they began kicking sand at her and she forcefully closed her eyes to avoid getting any of the sand in them. She huddled into the fetal position, it was the only thing she knew to do.

And then the screaming started.

Not her own, but the children attacking her. She opened one of her eyes to see what it was causing them to scream, before both her mist gray eyes popped open.

"Gaara?" she whispered, he was standing protectively in front of her.

But then she saw how his hands kept clenching and unclenching, and the billows of sand grabbing the children and dragging them along the sand floor. It was even starting to crush some of them.

Yami got up quickly and stood in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

The look in his teal green eyes, however, made her gasp.

They had a monstrous look, like Gaara was being taken over by something else entirely. And then the emotions hit her hard. Anger, Hatred.

She let go of him, biting her lip so hard she drew blood. She could feel his hate . . . his anger. Like she was angry and in hate herself, but she couldn't allow it to swallow her up.

No, this isn't real. These aren't your emotions. She told herself, slowly letting go of those emotions. But they were real for Gaara.

This wasn't him, she had to wake him up before he killed someone. And that cold, painful truth was what it took for Yami to look Gaara back in the eyes. She held his face in her small hands.

The emotions hit her hard again, but she tried to will them away the best she could. To keep in a stable mind.

"Gaara!" she shouted, but no response. He only began smiling in a way that made Yami flinch as if she was just hit in the head by another rock.

The screaming behind her continued as they began pleading for their lives.

"GAARA!!!" Yami found herself screaming for him to come back, to stop doing this and acting this way.

She just wanted her friend back.

A light suddenly came back to Gaara as the demonic look he had disappeared. At the same time, Yashamaru arrived, blocking the sand with his own body and receiving injuries to his head and arm.

"Stop, Gaara! You can't do this!" Yashamaru told him as the screams stopped suddenly, the sand releasing them but they were all unconscious.

"Yashamaru . . ." Gaara whispered in a shocked voice as realization of what he done started coming to him. His eyes looked at Yami, who still held his face. "Yami . . ."

"It's okay, Gaara, you're okay." Yami started saying in a comforting tone. Her eyes were unbearably soft as Gaara took in her dirtied form. Blood trickled from her head wound and from her mouth where she bit down earlier.

He abruptly covered his face with one hand, causing Yami to lose her hold on him. He held his head as he stifled a scream. What did he do? What was that? He just saw how they were hurting Yami and he reacted, something inside him taking over . . . A terrible feeling had came to him in the center of his chest and he was just enveloped in hate and anger for what they were doing to his friend. He had been taken over by something and that was the last thing he truly remembered . . . The rest was a blur.

"Oh, Gaara," Yami said, having to fight back tears at seeing the state her friend was in. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, just as he had done with her when she lost control, and he cried into her shoulder. Her long black hair acting as a curtain around him.

Yashamaru's eyes grew soft at seeing them, but then he turned to the hurt children and quickly got to work.

* * *

After using his medical skills, Yashamaru healed the children. Thankfully, there were no casualties, just a few broken bones on some children.

He took Yami and Gaara back to Gaara's room in the Kazekage mansion. He first looked at Yami, her head wound had him worried.

"Now, Yami, this may hurt a little bit but it'll make it better." Yashamaru told the little girl who nodded silently, she was sitting on Gaara's bed.

Gaara watched with his face downcast, standing behind Yashamaru. He let Yami get hurt. It was all his fault.

Yashamaru searched through Yami's thick hair until he found the open wound. Yami winced when Yashamaru's cool hand touched it, and Gaara reached for Yami when she winced. Hating to see her in pain. Pain that he has never felt before.

She looked at him as he came to her and reached for her hand, he covered it gently with his and she smiled.

Yashamaru quickly put gauzes against it to soak up any blood that may still be leaking from it. He then applied some of his chakra to heal the wound up.

"The wound to your head is small, but deep. I can heal the wound completely up so it doesn't bleed anymore, but you'll have some headaches for a short while." Yashamaru told her as he finished. He grabbed a wet towel and began rubbing her face gently with it, the dried blood coming off and dirt revealing her ivory skin once again.

Yashamaru knew she had a wound to the lip, which was where blood had been coming from; but when he looked, he didn't see anything. There was nothing there, but he was sure he saw it earlier . . .

And that was when it hit him. The reason why she didn't faint from her head wound when it first hit her, and the reason why there was no indentation of a wound on her lip must mean only one thing . . . She heals at a phenominal rate faster than humans.

Yashamaru kept that piece of information to himself as he moved to her arm where another injury was. There was no blood, but definitely a nasty bruise lay on her pale arm. It wasn't as big and dark as it should have been, further proof that the girl was already physically healing.

"Yami, where did the rock hit you before in your chest area?" Yashamaru asked her kindly and she pointed to the spot just below her collar bone. It was already slightly red and a bruise was forming also. He healed them both as best he could and told Yami to take it easy for a while.

"But, Yashamaru, what about your wounds? They still need healing." Yami spoke, looking at his open wounds. He had been so busy caring for everyone else that he failed to address his own well-being.

"Oh, this? It's barely more than a scratch, I'll be fine." Yashamaru told her softly, but Yami already grabbed a wet cloth and started gently rubbing at his wounds on his forehead.

He instantly softened as he gazed at the concerned girl, he wondered how something so pure could be the bearer of such great darkness.

After Yashamaru showed Yami how to properly dress a wound, he stood up. Gaara had been studying the two and now felt a great guilt come over him. He hurt Yashamaru.

"Yashamaru . . . I'm sorry." He said, looking away, and Yashamaru looked at him, shocked. "Your wounds . . . do they hurt?"

Yashamaru saw the guilt on the boy's face and Yami looked sad, not liking to see the turmoil her friend was in.

"Yes, a little bit. But it'll heal in no time." Yashamaru smiled.

Gaara looked over at Yami, noting her wounds she suffered before looking down. "Yashamaru, what does pain feel like?"

Yashamaru gazed at him and Yami did the same as Gaara looked down at his hand with a saddened look.

"You see, I've never actually been injured before, and I was wondering what it was like."

That's right, the sand is always there to protect him. Sometimes it even protects me . . . Yami thought, remembering the times when the sand came to Gaara's aid.

Yashamaru looked in thought for a moment. "Hm, how can I put it? It's very difficult . . . or, maybe upsetting is what I mean. It's like, when someone is struck or cut, it's a feeling that's very hard to take. When you're hurt, you don't feel normal." Yashamaru rubbed the back of his head, "I'm not explaining it very well, am I? Basically it's a situation you wanna avoid if at all possible."

Gaara was silent, studying Yashamaru's and Yami's wounds. Not able to feel the pain that they were going through. He remembered the look in the children's eyes when they first saw Yami holding the kunai . . . and then how they reacted . . .

"Do they truly hate us, Yashamaru? Yami and me . . . they all look at us with the same look in their eyes, do you not like us too?" Gaara asked him, looking away and Yami raised her head to stare at Yashamaru.

Yashamaru's heart lurched at the sadness on their faces. The two were very dear to him, more so than anyone . . .

"Everyone goes through their lives hurting others and being hurt, but it's not so easy for us to . . . hate one another." Yashamaru said softly before giving them a small smile.

Gaara instantly smiled and Yami seemed to form one as well at seeing her best friend in such high spirits.

"Thanks a lot, Yashamaru. I think I understand what pain really is now."

"I see," Yashamaru said before Gaara looked down suddenly.

"Before I met Yami . . . And whenever they look at us or treat us like we're monsters I begin to feel a deep pain . . ." Gaara grasped the fabric covering his chest. "I know I don't bleed, but whenever I feel that way or Yami is in danger like today, I feel a lot of pain here."

Yami was speechless. Gaara felt that strongly about her? Why her? What made her so special to him? Then again, what made Gaara so special to her? Was it because of the bond they shared, how quickly they understand each other and rely on one another? He felt pain on the inside whenever she was in pain on the out? What was that called?

"When you are wounded on the outside, like a cut on the hand, blood will flow and the pain will slowly go away. As time passes, it will heal over and you won't hurt anymore. With the help of medicine, it will heal even faster." Yashamaru then put his hand over his heart. "But even more dangerous is a wound dealt to the heart, because there's nothing that has more trouble healing."

"A wound to the heart?" Gaara asked.

"Wounds to the heart are a little different than wounds to the flesh. Unlike an injury to the body, there is no medicine for a wounded heart and sometimes it never heals. But don't worry, there is one thing that can mend a broken heart. That's a very complicated remedy that can only be administered to you by another person."

"So then what is this remedy?" Yami asked him.

Yashamaru looked at the two with sparkling eyes. "Don't you two see? You already have it, with each other." When the two looked confused, he answered. "It's a special thing called love."

"Love?" Gaara questioned the word.

"You got it!"

"So . . . we already have it?" Yami asked, her and Gaara looking at each other.

Yashamaru nodded. "You have love in its purest form, you see love grows just as we do. It has its ups and downs but it's something essential to life. That deep pain you feel in your heart whenever Yami's in trouble is your own form of pain at seeing your loved one get hurt. It's upsetting to see, and more than anything you want to see them happy again and out of pain." Yashamaru said this while looking at a picture of Karura, Gaara's mother.

It all made sense to Yami now. Her friendship with Gaara was the strongest, and she wondered why . . . It was because of this mysterious thing called love. She loved Gaara, she hated to see him in pain, and he must have felt the same because of the look in his eyes.

"So . . . we love each other? And that's how we feel pain on the inside?" Gaara asked.

"Yep," Yashamaru told them and they both smiled at each other, glad to have an answer. "Love is something very special. You must treasure it, for it is your greatest strength."

They would never know just how true Yashamaru's words were . . . but they would, someday.

* * *

It was later that night, when Gaara was out of the room, that Yami confronted Yashamaru. Something had been bothering her . . . .

That demonic gaze that was in Gaara's eyes when he lost control. It haunted her, and she wanted to know what it was. No, needed to know . . . So she could prevent it.

"Yashamaru?"

"Yes?" Yashamaru responded, notcing how the girl hovered silently as he prepared her a bed for the night. When he saw confusion in the girl's eyes he stopped and looked at her. "What is it, Yami?"

She thought before she spoke, her teeth grazing her lip in habit. Something that occurred when she thought too long or too hard on something. "It's Gaara . . . Why does the sand always protect him?"

Yashamaru seemed surprised by this, after all, Yami has always known of this and never questioned as to why the sand automatically protects his nephew. There must have been something else troubling her mind. "Gaara's different, Yami. He carries within him a living vessel known as the Shukaku, the sand spirit. The sand is Shukaku's weapon, and it automatically rushes to protect him."

"So then . . . This Shukaku . . . Is it some kind of monster inside him? And that's why Gaara can't sleep?" Yami whispered, her dark bangs hiding her face from view as she looked down.

Yashamaru was taken aback, but decided to only tell her the truth. "Yes, it is. It's a powerful creature, and since Gaara is still so young and vulnerable . . . It's trying to take control of him."

"Like earlier." Like every time he experiences sudden and high emotions . . . Which are usually connected to me.

Yashamaru nodded. "But you are his lifeline, Yami. After today, I see that you are very important in Lord Gaara's life. You're the only one who can bring him out of that state, who can help him fight his demon within."

Yami looked up at him. "But the whole reason he goes into that state is because of me!" She raised her voice, accidentally shouting.

Once she calmed down, Yashamaru began speaking softly. "Don't you see? It's because you're precious to Gaara. It all has to do with love, Yami. You'll understand it someday," Yashamaru said before continuing. "But you know something? It's not the Shukaku that manipulates the sand to protect Gaara."

Yami looked at him with questioning eyes as he once again looked over at the picture of his sister in the picture frame. "His mother's will is carried in every grain of that sand. Even after death, she wishes nothing more than for her son to be safe and . . . happy." He walked over to the door before smiling back at Yami. "It's all out of love. Now you rest up, and I'll go get Gaara."

And with that, he left, and Yami looked back at the picture of the beautiful woman. What was her mother like? Did she look like her? Did her mother love her like Gaara's mother loved him? Is still loving him?

Yami shook her head, she was positive on one thing. Love was a confusing thing, but it was definitely the best feeling to have in the world. Without it, a person seemed even more lost than with it.

What would it be like if she had never known what love feels like? If she had never met Gaara?

No, it was too upsetting to even think about. She was here, with her loved one, and that was all she needed.

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