Unbearable Weight of Leaves

Burying the Past

Gaara

Age 8

I kept myself scrunched as small as I could get while I hovered over the street on the rooftop of my neighbors home. I'm sure they wouldn't want me there, but to be honest, I would just kill them if they interfered. It wasn't my fault their house was at a crossroads where many people tended to walk, even at this late hour. I just needed to wait a while longer for the streets to clear, then when there was someone alone...

I was excited for tonight. I didn't always go hunting in my own neighborhood, the prey in this area was more feisty than most other areas I found. Maybe because this area was made mostly of ninja, where the districts further in until one reached the center tended to have more regular prey. I was in the mood to fight. I wanted them to think they could survive me. I wanted them to underestimate my abilities. I needed blood. They tried again today, to kill me. It didn't work. It never works. It will never work. I suppressed the chuckle which tried to rise in my throat. I left part of them behind. A leg I think. Part of one. I couldn't remember, I wasn't paying attention, not close. It didn't matter. There would be more, but maybe the piece of leg would serve as a repellant for a while. Like I seen in the book at home of Yashamaru's, where people would hang the tail of something up to keep them away as an example.

I sneered. When I was able to get strong enough, I would hang the heads of my family on the outsides of this place. I looked up at the towers of sandstone and smiled. A wide, toothy smile. Yes. This place is surrounded entirely by sand, it would be easy for me. All I would have to do is work at breaking it down. Bit by bit I would create the perfect weapon. I could bury the entire village in one swoop, then crush them.

I wasn't strong enough for such a task yet. Too bad. It would be fun to make them beg. My siblings. No Gaara, don't hurt us. No Gaara, please I don't want to die. No Gaara... I couldn't stop the laugh from escaping my lips this time and one of the passersby looked up at me. I narrowed my eyes at the vermin and it scampered away from me.

Pathetic.

At least the creature knew it's place within the food chain around here. There was nobody who could end me. No, it would be me, ending them. Watching as the blood flowed out from their bodies. I...

Blood, I need blood. Feed mother. I'm hungry, won't you be a good boy and help me? Mother loves you...

My hand grasped at my hair as a tremble crept up through my body. Mother. "Yes mother. Soon, soon I shall feed you. Can't I play with my food first? Wouldn't it be fun? Shall I make it scream?"

Mmm, I love when they scream. Let's make them scream. Then I want blood. Give me blood? So warm.

"Yes, I want it too, Mother. Soon, I will bathe in blood and feed you. It will be delicious mother, I will give you so much blood."

Gaara, such a good boy, feed mother. I want blood. So much blood. Feed me, Gaara? For Mother?

Yes, I need blood. For mother. Mother loves me, I need to give her blood. This place would take too long. Maybe the alley behind this house? Yes, maybe I could get someone in there, and I could feed mother before she became angry. It hurt whenever she became angry, inside my head. The roar was enormous, I couldn't stand it, the thing inside me. She would let it out if I didn't feed her. She would let me fall asleep and the thing inside of me would come back out. I hate the thing. The Shukaku. It would end me as well if it had the chance to, and I would never let such a thing happen. Never. Didn't I deserve life? Didn't I deserve to exist? I needed the blood to confirm it. I needed to hear them scream to ensure I was alive myself.