Fools

Arriving to the leaf village was a pain, and even worse was the three leaf ninja Gaara had run into on the way in. They were loud and obnoxious, a huge difference from Sunas quiet streets.

Though Gaara didn’t interact much with the trio, he could tell that they would be trouble.

He watched as they pointlessly argued with each other right in front of him and his siblings.

“Sometimes Naruto I can’t believe I got you as a soulmate!” The girl with pink hair had yelled suddenly, making the blond boy, Naruto, whine loudly. “Sakura you can be so cruel sometimes..”

“Will you two shut up already, I’m the one who’s really suffering here” The uchiha finally muttered, loud enough to be heard by Gaara.

“What did you say!!??”

Their arguing made Gaara furrow his nonexistent brows, were they really arguing about being soulmates?

Gaara scoffed. Soulmates, how childish.

He stared down at his own hands, which were down by his sides. He lifted his left pinky out slightly, trying to make it seem like he wasn’t checking for that cursed string.

The red string of fate felt more like a curse to Gaara.

No one could truly love him, whether fate forced someone to or not. Who would willingly love someone so monstrous? Someone with the power capable of destroying an entire nation. It just wasn’t possible, not in Gaaras eyes.

Love wasn’t made for a monster like him, only hate.

Gaara spent the rest of his days before the exams inside. He didn’t come out unless it was for food or the bathroom.

He could tell Baki was worried, but really when was he not.

Gaara caused all sorts of problems for the man, it seemed it was all he could do. He was only good at destroying.

“Gaara,” Baki muttered to him as he walked into the dark kitchen. Only the moon lit up the small space.

Gaara didn’t say anything, just stared at the plate in front of him. He could tell the food was already cold, he had ignored the call to come down for dinner hours ago.

“I wanted to make sure you ate, I’ll leave you be for tonight,” Baki walked out quietly.

Baki wasn’t like the others. The man actually looked Gaara in the eyes, and talked to him as if they were close. Though that didn’t mean there weren’t times that Baki didn’t cowered in front of him, but who wouldn’t?

Nobody knew if Gaara would lose control one day. Everyone was afraid of him for that reason, nobody would ever truly not be afraid of him or his power.

As Gaara sat at the table alone, he recalled a conversation he had with Baki. It was more one sided than anything, but he was still listening.

..

Gaara slammed the door to his room shut, his shoulders rising and falling with every sharp inhale and exhale he made. He had just turned 10, the age most kids would start to see the signs of their string of fate.

He had seen his.

His mind rattled itself, it was impossible for him to actually have a soulmate.

The kids teased him, and talked about how his soulmate would definitely never accept him. How could someone accept a monster, let alone love one?

Gaara wanted to scream and cry, the beast inside him raged. It’s anger making his stomach burn and his breathing rapid.

He glared at his hands, thinking how the gods could taunt him with such a thing.

The string of fate? What a joke..

A soft knock sounded from the door, pulling Gaara from the depths of his mind and back into reality.

He hadn’t realized it, but he was curled into himself. He knees were painfully close to his chest and his hands trembled immensely in front of his eyes.

“Gaara?” Bakis voice was loud in comparison to the silence that once filled the room. “I understand if you do not wish to talk, but there is something I wish to discuss with you,”

Gaara wasn’t sure when he had done it, but he was up and at his bedroom door in seconds. He opened it only slightly, the light from the hall shone slightly into his moonlit room.

“You’re crying..” Baki said, his eyes softened upon seeing Gaaras tear stained face.

“I hadn’t noticed,” was all Gaara said.

“I see..may I come in?” Baki requested, though it was hesitant.

Gaara didn’t say anything, he just opened the door enough for the elder to come in. When the door closed Baki began to speak.

“As you know, you’ve reached the age when you can see the string that connects both you and your soulmate,”

Gaara nodded, his eyes glaring daggers into the floor.

“I hope you know that it is not a bad thing,”

Gaaras fists clenched, what could he possibly know?

Baki could sense the tension and sighed, “Please listen to me, even if you do not wish to,”

“A soulmate is more than just a concept, it is fate giving you the person who will balance you out. Your other half if you will,” He began to explain, Gaara pretended not to care, but he was listening to every word Baki said.

“I believe,” the man began, “that this could be a blessing for you Gaara, whoever this person is could help you in ways that you deem impossible. They will be there for you in your hardest times, and will be able to help you shoulder all this..pain,”

Gaara could hear a small stutter in Bakis words.

“Please do not try and fight fate,”

“That is all I wished to speak about, goodnight Gaara,”

..

At the time, the conversation seemed random. Gaara would have never expected in a million years that Baki, out of all people, would try and have a heart to heart with him. The man assigned to basically babysit him was trying to comfort him. Trying to look out for him.

He didn’t need that.

He didn’t need someone to watch over him, he could take care of himself..

After Gaara finished his cold dinner, he went into the room he was staying in and laid in bed. Glaring at the ceiling.

When the chunin exams began, Gaara couldn’t have cared less.

He made it through the first test and second without much difficulty. Although, his impulses and the beast inside him grew more restless. The rage building up slowly began to become too much for him to contain.

By the time the preliminaries had begun, he was seething with bloodlust. Watching the battles before him only worsened it.

Temari and kankuro could tell and stepped away from him, Baki being the barrier between the three.

When his name was finally selected he wasted no time getting onto the ground, he could feel the sand spirit begging to be let out. Begging for blood.

His opponent didn’t seem to want to waste any time either as he leaped onto the ground. His presence being known by everyone.

From the very beginning of their match Gaara could see it. That cursed string.

He wished he couldn’t.

The red shone brightly, he was sure everyone else could see it too. Though of course they wouldn’t be able to.

Unlike Lee, Gaara chose to ignore this detail and attacked him like he was going to kill him.

He didn’t hold back, in the back of his mind the sand spirit, Shukaku, was whispering. It was more like demanding. Kill.

Kill his soulmate.

Kill the one thing that makes him human.

Kill what fate brought to save him.

Who was Gaara to refuse such a request?

The sand bended to the spirits will, trying its best to grasp Lee, for he was too fast for the sand now.

But the leaf ninjas luck was running out, and when he stuttered midair Gaara knew it was over. The sand was quick to strike.

When Lee began to stop his attacks, Gaara was confused. He’s about to die, why won’t he fight back?

“Why aren’t you fighting?”

Gaara barked, watching as Lee struggled to catch his footing. He watched as his opponents eyes looked down at his hand and back up to meet his eyes.

Like Lee, the sand ninja looked down at his left hand and back to meet the others gaze. He furrowed his brows.

“I see,”

How foolish could a person be. A stupid string wasn’t going to stop Gaara.

Raising his hand to bring up more sand, Gaaras movements were stuttered by the tug at his pinky.

It was faint but he felt it.

What was happening? And why was it happening now?

Gaara let his confusion turn to anger, he let that anger out in the form of a large wave of sand. He only glared down at Lee as the sand closed in fast around him.

From where he was, Gaara could still meet Lees eyes. He could see the fear and despair in his eyes. It made his chest ache. His soulmate looking at him like a monster.

He had only himself to blame for this.

“You think I care that you’re my soulmate, is that it?” Gaara almost taunted, his tone much more scratchy and aggressive. His mind was foggy and he could feel a splitting headache forming behind his eyes. He let out what was almost an animalistic growl, his teeth grinding against each other.

He clenched his fist and the sand began to shoot out towards Lee.

The raven began to try and dodge his attacks, but he was too weak. Everyone could see it.

Before Gaara could capture Lee, he felt that same aching pain in his chest again, however this time it wasn’t like it always was. It shook his body to its core, making him almost stop his sand and quit what he was doing. But why? This boy meant nothing to him, he was just a fool.

A fool who believes in a lie called fate, in soulmates and a stupid red string that only they could see.

All of Gaaras emotions only ever channeled his rage, the rage of the monster inside of him. He fought against that ache in his chest, and gave into his impulses.

“Love,” Gaara hissed, his words sharper than his gaze, “means nothing to me.”

The red head clenched his fist for the final time, and finally, a piercing scream echoed throughout his head.

This time it was Lees, and Gaara had done something he could never take back.

He’d ruined the one good thing that he could’ve had.

As he looked up into the corner where he came from, he saw Baki, his face said all that Gaara needed to know.

Gaara refused to look down at his left hand, and returned back to where he had come from.