118 Confrontation - 4

Late that night the sky was cloudy and black. Gaara sat lazily beside Temari, eating mochi that she had retrieved for her brothers after their insistence for a snack. Kankuro's feet hung off the side of the shingled roof while he ate the last of his dumplings, very deep in thought.

Soon this calm, relaxing time would end. The truth was Gaara's new home was going to be massacred tomorrow, and then he would realize that his own flesh and blood had turned against him. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Kankuro had come very close to warning Gaara of the impending doom of Konoha before he noticed a ninja skipping like a phantom over rooftops towards them, "Hey, Gaara, do you know this one?"

Gaara blinked at his brother and then said simply, "Haku."

Temari raised her eyebrows, "So he finally decides to show his face? The night before the final rounds no less!"

The red haired boy handed the last of his mochi to his sister which she took no interest in, and tossed over the side of the building casually. She had never met Haku before so this would be quite the education for her.

Haku landed like a cat on the side of a nearby air-duct. The metal made a hollow ringing sound as his feet connected. He looked tired. More than that, as far as Gaara could see, he looked troubled.

Kankuro exchanged a confused glance with Temari as Gaara walked over to his friend. After a moment, they too rose and approached the newcomer. They should at least try to be polite before the fighting started up again, Kankuro thought.

"You should come home now. We all need to be rested for the exam." Haku said while stowing away a scroll in his gi, "Have you eaten anything yet?"

"I'll be back later." Gaara stifled a yawn. He had eaten lightly. It would be enough to hold him over.

Haku was visibly annoyed. The frown on the fair-skinned boy's face did not bode well at all.

That frown, Gaara noted, was directed at the two Sand ninja standing behind him, observing Haku inquisitively. He was well aware Haku didn't trust Temari and Kankuro as far as he could throw them, but he had at least expected him to have some manners.

"I don't suppose you're ready for our match?" Temari was being sociable, even if she was a bit haughty at the same time.

Haku stepped down from the vent, offended. He hadn't known it was simply in Temari's nature to be condescending. Naturally, it provoked from him one of his less-polite responses, "Only as ready as you are, with regards to how much he's informed you."

His voice had been icy when he had referred to Gaara. Temari scowled at him for it, and he glared right back with sharp, beautiful eyes that made her shiver. She sensed almost the barest hint of killing intent.

"I haven't said anything about you!" Gaara snapped. It had barely been a minute and already Haku had pissed him off.

"I'm sure." The lack of trust in the water nin's voice only escalated Gaara's frustration.

Kankuro, the only one who had not yet been upset, stepped between his sister and her future opponent, "Whoa now! Let's take it easy! No one's said anything, believe me."

Temari backed off, not bothering to get worked up. She could teach Gaara's cranky friend a thing or two tomorrow!

Gaara observed Haku for a long moment. He was well groomed, as usual, but somehow he looked far less agreeable. He had come here only with the intention of speaking to Gaara, and was not looking forward to meeting his so-called siblings.

"You aren't yourself." Gaara pointed out, pulling back on the reigns of his anger.

"You wouldn't know," Haku looked taller when he was fuming, "You hardly see me these days, or Naruto-kun for that matter!"

Gaara bristled and his brother and sister watched in alarm. They hadn't been anticipating a confrontation between two best friends.

Haku's livid rambling continued, "Perhaps you'd make a much better Sand shinobi if you prefer a crowd of-!"

He failed to finish his sentence once Gaara's fist slammed into the side of his face, making his siblings jump in surprise. After that, they went wild. The two leapt up onto the air-ducts close by, scuffling, punching and knocking various things over with a resounding crash.

Temari's eyes were wide, 'Just what the hell is this? In the preliminaries he was so docile and calm…though now it looks as if he's just as angry of a person as Gaara is.'

With a thud, Gaara knocked Haku back down to the tiling, and was about to hit him again before his brother caught him about the shoulders, restraining him.

Haku stood and wiped the blood running from his lip. His eyes were still locked with Gaara's. The hostility was tangible.

"What's with you?" Kankuro barked, releasing Gaara once he had stilled, "I thought you were friends!"

"We were." The redhead said shortly.

Haku turned to Temari, totally ignoring Gaara, "At the finals then…"

She scowled at him and he left a moment later, not wanting a reply.

Kankuro sat down on the railing, glad that Haku had gone, "Unbelievable! What the hell was that all about?"

It took about a minute before Gaara's wits had come back. He hated it when he was angry. It made him blind. It brought him closer to the thing inside of him that cheered merrily every time he felt the need to kill.

He almost felt as if, much to his disgust, he had needed to kill Haku. That feeling had gone rather quickly since he reminded himself that a living Haku was much more valuable than a dead Haku. The monster fell back into its quiet growls after that.

"Haku would prefer that I train with my own team and only my own team," Gaara explained, knowing exactly what he had been feeling, "He's insufferably narrow-minded when it comes to family matters."

"You better set things straight with him," Temari said darkly, "It isn't worth all the trouble. Your fighting will hurt your team and make you weak."

Gaara agreed with her. What she had said was true but he didn't really care at the moment. Haku was being an oversensitive asshole who needed to be hit very hard in the head until he understood that he had no right to flat-out reject Temari and Kankuro before actually meeting them!

"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't look for me." Gaara was still halfway pissed when he had said it.

Kankuro smirked at him, "Sure thing. We'll find you before the final matches start."

Partly amused by his brother, Gaara set out over the sea of buildings in the same direction Haku had left in.

He didn't feel like going home, not when he knew that Haku would be there. He would still be as close-minded about his siblings as ever. Gaara moved like a shadow through the darkness, unhindered by the gourd tied to his back.

The clouds moved away and moonlight seemed to drip over him as he hopped from roof to roof. He supposed Naruto would have to be informed of the row he and Haku had been in. He had a right to know as a member of Team 2, most especially when a disagreement threatened their chances of becoming Chunin.

"Aw…is Haku-kun causing you trouble?"

Gaara paused on top of a chimney. The voice was all too familiar and his guard was up in an instant.

He turned his head slightly and saw Orochimaru perched on a pole behind him. A twisted smirk adorned his wan face.

"I have no business with the likes of you." Gaara said bluntly and he turned to leave, recalling Jiraiya's warnings about Orochimaru.

Gaara didn't even flinch when he turned to see the vile ninja standing in front of him. Intimidation didn't work on the red haired boy. He was the one who practically invented the concept, and Orochimaru was little more than a cockroach who hadn't yet been squashed, in his opinion and his sensei's.

"Indeed," Orochimaru droned, rather bored of Gaara's flat reaction, "Not since our game in the Forest of Death. Now tell me you didn't have a fun time in there?"

"Keep your distance from my team and I won't kill you," Gaara's eyes were narrowed and calm, "I can't say my sensei will be half as tolerant of you as I have been."

Orochimaru laughed wickedly, crossing his arms, "Your sensei? That simpleton couldn't kill me even in his fantasies! You are the student of a fool who has nothing better to do than let the Hokage play zoo with a few jinchuriki!"

Even if Gaara had steeled his nerves, it stung that he and Naruto were only viewed as sacrifices in the eyes of the Sandaime. His teeth ground together noiselessly as he fixed his cold glare on the snake. Perhaps he could save Jiraiya the trouble and finish him immediately.

"I can assure you I haven't come for Haku-kun this time…"

He had been prepared for the blast of killing intent that swept over him and fought against it. Gaara readied his sand and Orochimaru disappeared, chuckling to himself. It was a game to him. He enjoyed tormenting Jiraiya's witless pupils. They had been no different from the first batch he had tried to exterminate. At least when Jiraiya had trained his first genin team they had put up more of a fight.

Gaara turned, feeling a pressure on his arm. It hadn't occurred to him at the time he was in danger until he heard the sennin perform a jutsu he knew he couldn't counter, "Four Point Unsealing!"

His sand forced Orochimaru back, but not soon enough. The searing, slow burn on his arm had distracted him and Gaara stared with wide eyes, wondering how Orochimaru had known of his weakness.

'If he was once Jiraiya-sensei's teammate…then he has just of much skill with seals.' Gaara shielded himself, watching Orochimaru stand on a nearby power line gloating at how easy it had been to penetrate his defenses.

He heard another voice then that was not Orochimaru's. It was loud and recognizable, and Gaara felt his hands rise up to cover his ears reflexively. It was then he understood the voice came from inside of him.

The cacophony of howls and snarls was overwhelming. He had forgotten. He had forgotten how terrifying it had been when he had no barrier against the presence of Shukaku. It had been so long since he had been in fear of it. The memories all came flooding back.

Gaara's knees met the plaster of the roof. His sand swirled turbulently around him as it had when he was a child. Orochimaru was thrilled.

"That's a bit better isn't it Gaara-kun? It'll be so much easier for you to get in touch with your inner-self now." Orochimaru smirked down at him, "We'll meet again at the exam and until then….pleasant dreams."

The snake left after that, his task accomplished. Gaara stood helplessly with his sand cascading around him in wait. Immediately, he struggled to push the Ichibi to the recesses of his mind. It was less difficult to do than it had been when he was younger. All the same, he knew damn well he would not be sleeping that night.

After regaining control of his sand, Gaara steadied himself.

He had to find Jiraiya.